Since Old School was such a hit, I thought I'd elaborate. I wrote it rather quickly for a class. I found out that day that I was to have 10 blog posts published, and turned in the next day. YOW-ZA
Here are a list of a few things that I've come across attending college as an "almost 30-er".
1. One of my professors is my age...exactly. He said he could tell I was older. RUDE. WRONG ANSWER, PROFESSOR. Never say that to a woman...ever.
2. My classmates were in 2nd grade when 9/11 occurred. I was not.
3. Being an older student gets me zero extra brownie points from professors, no matter how often I flash my smile, and pretend to be listening. (See #10)
4. I AM REMINDED EVERY DAY HOW UNCOOL I AM. I turn in to this extra awkward, unable to communicate person anytime I approach a group of students, or am forced to interact with them. I don't know what to do with my hands, or my face, or my facial expressions. I'm certain they refer to me as "that awkward lady who's always smiling at the professors during class and does her homework." (ALSO, see #10)
5. Kids love the popular music from the late 90's early 2k's. This does not make me feel cool, or with the in crowd. It just makes me feel confused.
6. Did you know the popular nights to go out are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday? Not the all assuming Friday night. The night doesn't begin until 11 p.m. How do these kids function?! If I'm gonna stay out late (and by late I mean, midnight) I need to KNOW I am able to sleep as much as I want the next day. If not, I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE. Yoga pants and pizza never keep me up late.
7. College kids get so much anxiety when they are unable to check their phones during class. I personally enjoy the 80 minutes of every class where I don't feel obligated to check my phone. It's glorious. Until I hear it buzz 100 times, and then I panic that everyone I have ever loved has been buried alive by a swarm of African bees.
8. College kids in the Mass Communications department don't want to talk about the missing Malaysian plane. Whatever. I know they're curious.
9. The director of Karate Kid and Rocky spoke at my school. I'm pretty sure no one else had seen the movies, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that laughed at the guy's jokes, and thought it was THE COOLEST THING EVER. Ask me about it..seriously. Goosebumps throughout the whole thing. (THIS IS WHY I'M NOT COOL.)
10. One of my teachers is so nice. She is always smiling. I've spoken to her quite a few times, inside and outside of class. We've spoken about my major, the weather, Anne Bradstreet, etc. Last week (OVER HALF WAY INTO SEMESTER), during class, "Will you read paragraph 4...um...uh....I'm sorry, I can never remember your name." Me: "Um...Me?" "Yes." Me with quivering, betrayed sad voice: "It's Stephanie." Then I remembered, when she calls role, she always looks around when she says my name, and I've sat in the same seat the whole semester. Even the professors don't think I'm cool. (See #3)
Here's the thing, though. In spite of all of my insecurities that I'm reminded of on a weekly basis, I am having so much fun learning! I never thought I'd say that. When I was 18-21, I was not excited about learning anything. Which led my scholarly years into the years of hard knocks. I can tell I am surrounded by so many students who just want to pass. They don't want to do the work. They don't care. They don't want to learn. I want to shake them and say, "PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN. YOU WILL NOT DIE. AND, take advantage of this! You will never get it back!!" But, I don't, because, well, see #4. No one can take me seriously.
No matter how old you are, get out there! Get it done! Even if it's a sewing class, a photography class, or even starting from the beginning for your doctorate..DO IT! You won't regret it! Knowledge is power!!
Last thing, people really do wear pajama's and house shoes to class. PAJAMAS. HOUSE SHOES. That's passable at Wal-Mart, but I think that's it.
Here are a list of a few things that I've come across attending college as an "almost 30-er".
1. One of my professors is my age...exactly. He said he could tell I was older. RUDE. WRONG ANSWER, PROFESSOR. Never say that to a woman...ever.
2. My classmates were in 2nd grade when 9/11 occurred. I was not.
3. Being an older student gets me zero extra brownie points from professors, no matter how often I flash my smile, and pretend to be listening. (See #10)
4. I AM REMINDED EVERY DAY HOW UNCOOL I AM. I turn in to this extra awkward, unable to communicate person anytime I approach a group of students, or am forced to interact with them. I don't know what to do with my hands, or my face, or my facial expressions. I'm certain they refer to me as "that awkward lady who's always smiling at the professors during class and does her homework." (ALSO, see #10)
5. Kids love the popular music from the late 90's early 2k's. This does not make me feel cool, or with the in crowd. It just makes me feel confused.
6. Did you know the popular nights to go out are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday? Not the all assuming Friday night. The night doesn't begin until 11 p.m. How do these kids function?! If I'm gonna stay out late (and by late I mean, midnight) I need to KNOW I am able to sleep as much as I want the next day. If not, I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE. Yoga pants and pizza never keep me up late.
7. College kids get so much anxiety when they are unable to check their phones during class. I personally enjoy the 80 minutes of every class where I don't feel obligated to check my phone. It's glorious. Until I hear it buzz 100 times, and then I panic that everyone I have ever loved has been buried alive by a swarm of African bees.
8. College kids in the Mass Communications department don't want to talk about the missing Malaysian plane. Whatever. I know they're curious.
9. The director of Karate Kid and Rocky spoke at my school. I'm pretty sure no one else had seen the movies, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that laughed at the guy's jokes, and thought it was THE COOLEST THING EVER. Ask me about it..seriously. Goosebumps throughout the whole thing. (THIS IS WHY I'M NOT COOL.)
10. One of my teachers is so nice. She is always smiling. I've spoken to her quite a few times, inside and outside of class. We've spoken about my major, the weather, Anne Bradstreet, etc. Last week (OVER HALF WAY INTO SEMESTER), during class, "Will you read paragraph 4...um...uh....I'm sorry, I can never remember your name." Me: "Um...Me?" "Yes." Me with quivering, betrayed sad voice: "It's Stephanie." Then I remembered, when she calls role, she always looks around when she says my name, and I've sat in the same seat the whole semester. Even the professors don't think I'm cool. (See #3)
Here's the thing, though. In spite of all of my insecurities that I'm reminded of on a weekly basis, I am having so much fun learning! I never thought I'd say that. When I was 18-21, I was not excited about learning anything. Which led my scholarly years into the years of hard knocks. I can tell I am surrounded by so many students who just want to pass. They don't want to do the work. They don't care. They don't want to learn. I want to shake them and say, "PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN. YOU WILL NOT DIE. AND, take advantage of this! You will never get it back!!" But, I don't, because, well, see #4. No one can take me seriously.
No matter how old you are, get out there! Get it done! Even if it's a sewing class, a photography class, or even starting from the beginning for your doctorate..DO IT! You won't regret it! Knowledge is power!!
Last thing, people really do wear pajama's and house shoes to class. PAJAMAS. HOUSE SHOES. That's passable at Wal-Mart, but I think that's it.
