Lest you think I fell off the planet and bagged this blogging venture, know that I will eventually return and report! (You’ll get the joke if you read on!)
Have you ever reflected back on an unfinished goal? Does it resurface in your thoughts every so often and leave you wondering if you should go down that path again? Perhaps it is something like a ballet class you imagined yourself attending or a book you thought you should write. Maybe it’s an art class you wanted to continue but life took its toll and something had to be sacrificed and once again, your ephemeral goal ended up on the back burner.
I would venture to say that all of us have pursuits we once set our sights on, yet we never made them a priority and thus, they never saw the light of day. I recently have had the pleasure of going back to school to seek a degree after many years of neglect, and I do mean many – 35 to be exact!
Astonishing feelings arose from this endeavor. Immediately, I felt a little fearful that my academic brain might have shut down and I would not be able to restart it or kick it into high gear. Thankfully, I came to the realization that over the years I had matured and knew how to be more disciplined, even if that penciled out into hours of homework each night. Determination surfaced, along with a flicker of hope.
Fast forward to my most dreaded class – mathematics. I bravely attacked that class first, thinking if I can conquer my toughest one, it would increase my confidence, solidify my goal and help me stay my course. Striving to remain positive, I convinced myself that learning about our tax codes and statistics was at least somewhat useful. Acquiring a basic understanding of how to calculate and properly interpret standard deviations and tying that into interpreting a box-and-whisker plot felt a bit like I was enrolled in some foreign language course. I dug in my heels, added more hours of homework and felt over the moon when I finally grasped the concepts. Elation at 1 AM is electrifying to the point where sleep became elusive!
Enduring and pushing myself to succeed brought about a feeling of triumph and jubilation! Seeing a 4.0 GPA propelled me onward and soon I found myself excited to sign up for the next semester. School became intoxicating. Amazement set in and I was hooked! Suddenly learning was no longer a chore I dreaded; instead, it offered wonderment and new insights! News regarding the many galaxies viewed through the Hubble telescope suddenly became quite interesting due to my latest science class. Hearing about various issues in the world left me pondering on how to tie that into my latest essay. My brain cells continued to be energized and life took on more meaning as I gained a deeper understanding of the world around me.
This journey of higher education offers many rewards that I didn’t calculate or foresee. Somewhere along the line, my confidence grew, along with an increased appetite to know more of past and present cultures. In addition, I am now more aware of what natural disasters might occur near me and how I can mitigate their effects. I felt envigored and more alive than I have in many years. I’m so glad I conquered my fears enough to join in the game, even as late as it was. Now I can actively step up to the plate and swing with all I’ve got! I may not hit a home run, but little by little, I am rounding the bases and will make it to home plate and score my degree. I would highly recommend this course of action to anyone desiring to step up their game, conquer a new challenge, or feel more alive!
LoLo's Sunshine 