Thursday, March 1, 2007

I Think I'm Too Old For This!


I work at a university, not because I WANT to, but kind of because I HAVE to. I would much rather stay home, but that's a topic for another time. I have worked here for several years and never taken advantage of the fact that I can take classes for free. One day, after feeling so sorry for myself because I have to work outside the home and I can't stay home and be a mom, wife, and pastor's wife, I decided to buck up and make the best of my situation. I then decided that I was going to take some classes. Without giving it much more thought than that I signed up for Intro to Theology. What was I thinking???
My first day of class was very humbling. As I looked around me I realized that I was definitely the OLDEST person in the room, including the professor! As I felt the comings on of a hotflash I contemplated on the fact that not one person in that room knew what I was feeling. It took me several days to work through this. As I sit in class I labor intensively writing down every word the professor says with my Pentel fine point pen and my new paper notebook purchased especially for this class. All the other students have fancy little notebook laptops in colorful cases that they take notes on. Their computer desktops all have pictures of themselves with their boyfriends or girlfriends in various activities. Actually, from where I sit they aren't taking too many notes but they are playing an awful lot of solitaire and writing emails. Instant messenger pops up alot too!
The next awkward moment came with my first paper I had to write. We were instructed to write it in MLM style. What the heck is that? Thank goodness for my 16 year old daughter - she knew all about it and even gave me a handout with more rules and regulations for MLM style paperwriting then I will ever care to know. She never even told anybody (thank you honey!)
Today was my first test. I was so nervous I thought I was going to throw up for sure. The students around me didn't seem to nervous. In fact, they said things like, "If I flunk this I will just do some extra credit." I can't imagine! I have studied for 3 entire days and nights and memorized pages and pages of information. Today my daughter even asked me if I was studying in the shower. "Yes, how did you know?"
"Because I heard you."
"You mean I was talking out loud???" She just laughed at me. Well, I took the test. I think I did okay - at least it didn't seem too hard. I was probably one of the last 5 or 6 in the room. I won't get the results back for a while yet so I will continue to eat my fingernails for the next few days. I am so glad it's behind me though - I am longing to spend just a little bit of time in my sewing room this weekend!
Yep, I think I'm much too old for all this stress!

9 comments:

Special K ~Toni said...

I completely understand! I 'jumped' back into school(full time) this past September when my youngest started pre-K- I seriously thought of dropping out after the first week! Overwhelming was an understatement! Glad I stuck with it- I am the oldest as well, but I take everything much more seriously than my younger classmates! I am proud to say I have a 4.0- never would have thought that was possible! My entire weekends are spent studying and doing projects!
I know how hard it is, but I also think my 13 yo is proud of me, although he will never admit it!

MLM- ah... last semester I had to write a paper for English in MLM style,thankfully my instructor passed out a 'cheat sheet' for it.
I did pretty well, so I was happy!

Robin said...

Thanks for the encouragement Toni! I'm going to stick this out and I am already thinking about what class to take next. I am finding that it is fun to learn and that's something I never thought when I was younger! You are right, age gives you an appreciateion that didn't exist before.

Tonya said...

I'm here via the blog party and wanted to say Hi. I think it is great that you are going to school. I was just thinking about taking a class at our local jr. college.

SimplyAmusingDesigns.com said...

Stopping by from the blog party and I have to agree with Tonya...it's a great thing to do something you've never tried before! Congrats on the class...and hope you passed your test! :o)

Steve, Dana and Maria said...

Connected to you from the blog party page. Thought I would drop in from Romania! The pictures from Italy reminded me of our trip last year.

Monkey Giggles said...

Swinging in for the Ultimate Blog Party!!! Nice meeting ya.
Happy party week!

PARTY ON!!!

My first party favor give-away has begun. Come over when you get a chance.

Aisling said...

Dropping by on the party circuit and hoping you get the result you want from that test. Sounds scary to me. :)

Bookmom said...

Popping in for the party! I had forgotten all about MLM style, LOL! You really do have an interesting life.

Tracey at womanwithmanyhats.com

Miry Lou said...

Good for you--going back to school! I went back to grad school after being at home with kids and hubby for 6 years. I felt so out of my league. BUT my husband and professors have encouraged me that being just 6 years older than most of the students gives me an advantage.

Being better able to manage time, having a support system and many other things. You're doing great and before you know it, if there are any good students in that class they will come to you for help when they are having trouble because they notice that you actually pay attention in class.

You'll have to let us know how you did on the test.