I think we all heard the saying ‘’you are never too old to learn!’’ Whether we want it or not, every day, life throws us new challenges from which we learn. Sometimes, we need to live the same challenge a few times to really learn the lesson life is trying to teach us.
The other way we learn is by accumulating information from different sources given such as in a classroom. In these cases, it’s not life throwing us a lesson, but it is us looking to get more knowledge… even at 40!
23 years ago, I graduated High School and entered this new academic world known as University. Luckily, Université de Moncton has a campus in Edmundston, which meant I could stay home while attending University.
After hopping from a psychology major to a drama/theater major, I ended up completing a few years in an art major with an administration minor but never achieving my bachelor degree. I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do with my life then –I raise my glass to all the 17 year old out there who know what they want to do for a career (like my son). To be honest, I was not ready to map out what the next 45 years of my life would look like.
I did know that I would have loved to follow into my Mother’s footstep and become a Hairdresser. Always around people, working with your hands, letting your creative mind loose –as long your client agrees– and eventually, be your own boss. So, after 3 years in University, I decided to take that path. I mean, not only did I have an awesome teacher at my Cosmetology school, but I had an even better teacher at home. These were some good years!
If you had the chance to read one of my previous posts, one thing led to another and well, it was a good thing I had these University courses to fall back on. Although I did love doing hair (miss it to this day), I had to come to the realization that building a clientele was not going to happen over night and I had bigger responsibilities now.
Fast forward to 19 years later, and here we are. Never finishing my University did not bother me. I can’t say that it does now either. However, with my life experience, and the extra knowledge I now have, my perspective is a little different. Believe it or not, at 40 years old, I now know what I want to do for the rest of my career. In order to achieve this, well, I need to go back to school!
The only difference between then and now is the availability of courses out there. Going back to school for me did not mean I would have to leave my family and attend 3 to 4 hour classes at a University facility. It meant that I needed to go get some extra knowledge in order to work my way to what I wanted to achieve. After all, we are in 2017, where technology is available at our fingertips.
Officially, since last night, I am following an online course given in the Psychology faculty of the University of Toronto. Who would have known that the very first major I took in University would resurface later!
Ok, so it is just one course! I still have a family that needs my support and to be honest, not quite sure I would be ready to become a full time student. From all this, the 2 important things I mapped are the following:
- I have my family’s support –they understand that some evenings are set on the calendar for school time. After all, I do have some homework I need to hand in to my teacher
- I have a plan –It took me a while (over 23 years) to really know what I wanted to do. I think I knew all along what I wanted… just needed the life experience to really push me in that direction. The important thing is that I know what I want to achieve and by when I want to achieve it.
What is it I want to achieve? I am not quite ready to share this with the world. I am just happy that I have found what truly inspires me.
For anyone reading this, it is never too late to follow your dreams. There is never a good timing to start planning and achieving your goals. There will always be an excuse to push to tomorrow, what you can accomplish today. It will not be easy… but believe me, it will be worth it!
