School Days, School Days... yeah, ME!
What was I thinking going back to school? Was being a single mom with a full time job and a part time business not enough? Am I a masochist? I really have given up on the whole law school idea. I have accepted that, it 42, it is a little late for a law career. So what? Do I need a Master’s degree? Was my claim to fame as an English major not good enough for me?
Apparently not, because after over a decade out of the classroom I have enrolled in 15 hours this semester.
This all started when one of our summer clerks asked me what my degree was in. After I explained that my Major was English Literature, my Minor was Sociology and that I also pursued a certificate in “Women’s Studies” it hit me. I had majored in “hippie.”
Yup, not a marketable tool in the whole mix there, but I was great at organizing a protest and I can write a kick ass letter.
Do npt get me wrong. I am proud of my background in literature and I worked hard in that program. I just recognize the marketplace worth of an English degree. I spent far too many years being passionate about learning and pursuing higher education without any degree goal. My paychecks reflect the value of that pursuit.
So, I decided to go back to school and further pursue my studies, this time towards a degree that might actually pay off in more ways than owning a well rounded library.
This time my goal is to earn the right to put the letters after my name.
Does that make me a bad person?
I think not. I mean, I’m perfectly capable of doing the work in my current program. My background in English did train me to write clear and concise papers demonstrating that I interacted with the assigned text. I am great at rote memorization too. I test well enough.
So maybe I am not passionate this time and I will not get to write fantastically long papers dissecting a piece of ancient literature and making a case for its symbolism.
I can always do that in my free time.
It is not rocket science by any stretch. It is just school.
And until now I did not realize how much I had missed it.
Apparently not, because after over a decade out of the classroom I have enrolled in 15 hours this semester.
This all started when one of our summer clerks asked me what my degree was in. After I explained that my Major was English Literature, my Minor was Sociology and that I also pursued a certificate in “Women’s Studies” it hit me. I had majored in “hippie.”
Yup, not a marketable tool in the whole mix there, but I was great at organizing a protest and I can write a kick ass letter.
Do npt get me wrong. I am proud of my background in literature and I worked hard in that program. I just recognize the marketplace worth of an English degree. I spent far too many years being passionate about learning and pursuing higher education without any degree goal. My paychecks reflect the value of that pursuit.
So, I decided to go back to school and further pursue my studies, this time towards a degree that might actually pay off in more ways than owning a well rounded library.
This time my goal is to earn the right to put the letters after my name.
Does that make me a bad person?
I think not. I mean, I’m perfectly capable of doing the work in my current program. My background in English did train me to write clear and concise papers demonstrating that I interacted with the assigned text. I am great at rote memorization too. I test well enough.
So maybe I am not passionate this time and I will not get to write fantastically long papers dissecting a piece of ancient literature and making a case for its symbolism.
I can always do that in my free time.
It is not rocket science by any stretch. It is just school.
And until now I did not realize how much I had missed it.
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