Did you ever notice some of life's events seemed to be misplaced on the timelines of our lives so they don't occur when we are able to maximum enjoyment or benefit from them? Think secret crushes in high school who never get together and then go looking for each other later in life, a high school student who passes up on a great job opportunity because she wants to spend more time with her friends, or a college student who doesn't take learning seriously.
I spent last weekend beginning college tours with my 17-year-old son. He's been a little like a deer in the headlights when it comes to the college discussion. Unlike many young people, he has known his field of interest for quite some time now, but channeling it into college, and a major, and a career has been quite overwhelming for him. He's a junior so we still have time to figure it all out. But I couldn't help but feel, while my son is still feeling unsettled about college, I was in heaven! I don't remember if I was this excited about college when I was his age. Truth be told, my parents were pretty fresh off a divorce, and I did much of my college inquiry on my own. I don't even recall visiting any of them, though I had been to a couple with my older sister back when she was looking. And in high school I attended cheerleading camp at the University of Miami, which incidentally is where I ended up going for undergrad. But being on a college campus again, walking into lecture halls and labs, and visiting dorm rooms, made me wish I could do it all over again.
I just love the feel of a college campus. I get a similar feeling when I'm on campus at our local university where I teach as an adjunct. It doesn't matter that sometimes I feel old as I watch the young co-eds skateboarding through campus or hustling to class while texting on their phones. There's a youthful feeling of freedom and exploration of knowledge seeking and perspective changing. But it all goes by in the blink of an eye, and I wonder if I was really ready for it at 18. It's as though it came too quickly, at the wrong stage in my timeline, and it was over so fast. I'm not sure how much I really enjoyed learning at that age, whereas now... man, I wish someone would pay me to stay in school the rest of my life. If I could earn a living by being a college student, I wouldn't have to think twice. Call me a nerd (I prefer scholar) but I love learning. Whether it's reading books and articles, listening to someone speak knowledgeably about a topic that interests me, or doing research, I think I could be happy in college indefinitely. I'm at the stage in my life when I learn one thing that makes me want to learn more about another thing, which makes me want to learn more about three more things, and you get my point. It's like a disease.
Anyway, I promised my husband when I finished my doctorate, I was done for now. I guess I should have better defined "now," because May will be 3 years since I finished and I already want to go back. I think the next best thing would be a full time job on a college campus. Hey, you never know.
No comments:
Post a Comment