back to school

 

19 years ago, this beautiful little girl went to her first day of kindergarten in a cute little dress and ruffled socks. She was nervous and excited, but she let me hold her hand as we introduced her to her teacher. She was brave and didn't cry as her dad and I waved good-bye and left her sitting at her desk. I was not as brave, but I did wait until I got out of her line of view before I began to cry.

Today this beautiful young woman is beginning graduate school. She is brave and strong and doesn't need to hold my hand or help meeting her professors. She is doing it on her own and on her own terms. I  am not crying today, just beaming with pride! Her dad and I will be here if she needs us, but I think she's got it all figured out.

Good luck today, Mandi! The next 3 years of your life are going to be challenging, exciting and ultimately incredibly fulfilling for you because at the end of it all you will be a physical therapist. Yes, Dad and I are VERY PROUD!

School's Out for Summer

Hallelujah! Psychology of Aging is OVER! I took my final exam this evening. It's already graded and I also got my term paper back. I am proud and happy to tell you that I received an A+ on my paper and my overall grade for the class was an A+! You know how apprehensive I was about going back to school, but as it turns out, I did ok.

So, now I have to decide whether or not I will continue on my educational journey. Foothill College has decided to offer a few of the courses for the Gerontology Certificate through the summer and maybe one or two in the fall. If they decide to change the hours of the class from 6 pm - 9 pm to 4 pm to 7 pm I will definitely need to consider it.

But not tonight! Tonight I am going to relax and bask in the satisfaction that I did well.

Let me close with something I learned in class: Between 2005 and 2050 the percentage of the population at the age of 85 and above is expected to QUADRUPLE and the number of people with Alzheimer's Disease is expected to QUADRUPLE. There are not enough medical professionals, healthcare facilities or family members to care for these people. The Silver Tsunami is coming and we are not ready. Gerontologists are going to be in great demand.

Super 8

This is going to be short and sweet because I am in the middle of editing my life review project for my Psychology in Aging class. This paper is 40% of my grade so I am taking it pretty seriously.

However, all work and no play makes Laura a dull girl, so Ron and I stopped at the theater on the way home from work on Friday. Usually, when we attend a movie on it's opening day, we end up standing in line and get really crummy seats. Maybe it's because we went to the 6:35 showing, but we had no problem buying tickets or getting good seats. In fact, there was hardly anyone in the theater. This made me nervous.

Once the movie started, I forgot about all that. The movie is set in the 70's so waves of nostalgia hit me as I watched. The kids in this are GREAT! In a way, it reminded me of E.T. The ensemble of child actors played so well off each other and Elle Fanning (Dakota's little sister) and Joel Courtney were so believable. For me, this movie was about the relationships between the kids and the kids and their dads. The monster part of the movie got a little hokey at the end, but I still feel that this movie is a definite "Go see it!" Even though there are no comic book heroes in it I hope that the people who usually go to the movies will give it a chance.

OK, there's my review. Now I have got to get back to my paper.

Decision

Going back to school has been an interesting experiment. I have been taking an evening class since April to see how well I would do sitting in class for 3 hours after being at work all day long. I also wanted to see if I am smart enough to sit in class with other students, many of them the age of my daughters. Oh, and then there is the whole idea of learning something, too.

In recent years I have felt less than many of my co-workers because I only have a BS degree. I don't need higher education for my position and I am not looking for other work. I have often thought that there might be something wrong with me because I had never wanted to go back to school for a masters. Not high on my list of priorities. Then I found out that Foothill College had a Certificate of Gerontology program. Hmmmmmm. I thought that I would be able to do this at my own pace.

It's been difficult to do the required reading and homework in the time I have available. I'm working on my term paper which is due on the 15th of this month. My final is on June 24th. I had put the question out to the Universe...."Should I continue with these classes?"

The Universe didn't take long to answer. I found out in class this week that the program has been suspended due to budget cuts. There aren't enough students in the program to keep it going at this time. There it is. So I will finish my paper and take my final and then wait and see what the Universe has in mind for me now.

Confession

I didn't go to class this week.

As an adult, I feel perfectly justified in making the decision not to go to class. It had been a particularly exhausting week up to that point and I knew that sitting class for 3 hours was not going to be good for me. I have a limited reserve of energy that was all but gone by 5:30 pm on Wednesday. I emailed my professor telling her that I would not be there. So, why do I feel guilty?

Going back to school was all my idea. No one is forcing me. No one even recommended it. I have no one to blame but myself. Everyone has been very supportive, but I really question the wisdom of what I am doing.

The upside is that spring quarter will be over on June 24th. No gerontology classes are being offered during the summer session. I will be able to take some time to decide if I want to keep taking classes.

Hmmmmm....what to do?

Midterm part 2

Just so you know...all the positive vibes you sent my way were very helpful. I think I did ok! Should get my score next Wednesday and I will let you know.

Midterm

How did I get here? I am studying for a midterm exam. Yes, I am.

I am so out of practice for this. I didn't enjoy it much the first time I went to college. I did well enough, though, and I did graduate. So, why do I find myself back in this position?

I enrolled at Foothill College for the purpose of getting my career certificate in Gerontology. I am only taking one class at the moment, but I wish I was enjoying it more. Maybe it wasn't the right time to back to school.

My first midterm is on Wednesday. We'll see whether this was a mistake or not after I get the results of my test. For now I need to get back to the books. Wish me luck.

Syllabus

First day of class.

Introductions.

Textbook.

Syllabus
Personal essay.....10%.
Midterm exam....25%
Final exam...........25%
Paper....................40%

Assignment for next week.
Read Chapter 1.
Turn in personal essay.

Dismissed.

Maybe this won't be as difficult as I thought.

Psychology of Aging

I am almost 49 years old, but tomorrow I am going back to school. Granted it's only a once a week evening class at a local community college, but I will be sitting in a classroom, listening to a lecture, maybe taking notes, and probably taking a midterm and a final exam....school.

What's funny about this is that after I graduated from Ball State University way back in 1984, I swore that I was done with school. I almost dropped out after my junior year, in fact, but Ron insisted that I had gone that far so I HAD to finish. I'm glad that I did. However, a BSW hasn't done all that much for my career without having gone on for a Master's degree. At the time I was only concerned about being a wife and mother, so it didn't matter to me then. However, the kids have grown up and I'm ready to see if it's in me to consider going back to school for a Master's. At the very least, maybe I will get a Career Certificate in Gerontology. Who knows?!

So, I'm starting small...one class, one night each week, but after a full day at work. Am I crazy? Probably, but I am going to give it the "old college try." Fitting, isn't it? I will let you know how I do when the session ends at the end of June.

Happy April!

It's the 4th day of April and already it's been quite an eventful month. I just got home from Houston where my sister, brother and I planned and successfully executed a surprise birthday attack for our mother's 70th birthday! She was truly surprised - it was all good!

I got home LATE last night since my original flight was canceled and I had to take a later flight. I'm glad I had the foresight to take a vacation day to recover. I slept in, unpacked my suitcase, posted all my photos on facebook and rested. Since I got my chores done, we even went to see a movie today. We saw The Adjustment Bureau. I have to say that Matt Damon is really growing on me. His chemistry with Emily Blunt was good and their relationship was compelling. The story was interesting and exciting - a bit of suspense. I even liked the way it ended. It won't be up for any awards but I'm glad to have seen it. I recommend it for the love story aspect.

We got home in plenty of time to watch the NCAA Championship Basketball game...unfortunately, the Butler Bulldogs came up a bit short after a very impressive showing in the tournament this year....what a heartbreaking game, right, Mandi?! Maybe next year...

Back to the real world and work tomorrow.

Did I tell you I'm going to take a class during spring session at Foothill College on Wednesday evenings? Wish me luck.