Category: life long learner

Eternal student

Every Tuesday I wake up very early for my language class. It is an international class so people log in literally from all corners of the earth. It is still dark outside, cold and everyone else is still sleeping. Even the dog does not understand what I am doing up at this  crazy time. And every Tuesday when the alarm goes off and I get dressed quietly in the dark so I will not wake my husband up, I ask myself – are you crazy, why on earth are you doing this? Go back to sleep.

And yet, after each class I am happy and I  smile, as tired as I am, I really enjoy this class even though I am not really good in this class. 

As an adult it is fun for me to learn new languages and just learn new skills. I find it really good for my soul as it brings me joy and probably helps combat dementia or alzheimer. Some tell me I am nuts for taking on new study areas. After I finally finished my MBA my husband looked at me and asked when I am going to get my PHD, I said never. But these days I am reconsidering. 

We are never too old to learn and yes I finished my masters at 54, but who says I can’t get a PHD by 65, I am not in a hurry and I don’t mind being an old woman when I get my degree. This is part of the fun of doing  new things when you are older and have the freedom to follow whatever your heart desires. Macrame, new language, or anything else that suits me at the time.

And if waking up in the dark, logging in to a class with people from all around the world makes me happy albeit tired, great. I shall continue, who knows maybe I did find my new calling as the eternal student.

When unprepared for class – regressing back to high school.

I woke up early today for my 7am zoom class, I was very tired. I got home from work the night before at 9:30pm and after walking the dog and decompressing I ended up going to sleep pretty late. And yet, when the alarm rang this morning I crawled out of bed and made myself a strong cup of coffee and logged into my class. Up to now all sounds good, except when I logged in I realized I forgot to submit my homework. Me, the mom who always yelled at my kids when they forgot to submit their homework , actually forgot her homework.

My fight or flight response kicked in and  I felt back in school. In one  moment I regressed back  40 years to a 15 years old me,  waiting for my parents to be called because I didn’t do my homework, except that I was a nerd and always did my homework so this was worse. 

Many times I can talk myself out of situations, but when it’s a language class and you’re a beginner it is not that easy. After my first freak out moment, I calmed down. I remembered that this class is with all adults who do have work and other commitments and is full of curious people who are taking the class to enrich their lives and not from a need to gain a grade, certificate or advancement in the workplace.  Did I like joining class feeling unprepared? Nope, definitely not. But I can guarantee that I will not forget to do my homework again, at least not for this class. I will start on my homework at some point today or tomorrow and will even submit.

What I found amusing is that even as an adult when you are not prepared you regress back to your highschool self, being called to the board and having no answer. Luckily I can also laugh about this and make fun of myself. 

Next I am going to review the quadratic equation in case I am ever asked, no, not really!