Academia, Here I Come…

I am so excited for this semester to begin on Tuesday. I am so ready in fact that the last two days I spent rearranging the furniture in my bedroom because I realized that the expected homework load for this semester would be double what it was last semester, therefore I needed a dedicated study area.

Last semester I floated around my apartment doing my homework wherever I could manage–the coffee table, in bed, on the couch, or when I finally bought one, the dining table. It wasn’t great at times because sometimes the lack of workspace became one more excuse to procrastinate and I can’t afford to get into that pattern this spring.

Moving was difficult enough without the added inconvenience of the delay in shipping of my belongings. When they arrived I was in the middle of the semester. Couple that with all the adjustments I was making because I added the work study to my schedule, couple that with spending time with the kids and keeping up with my assignments, sometimes unpacking and getting the apartment organized took a back seat. I did what I could, especially when motivated by an impending visit, but it still wasn’t actually settled.

I have spent a good portion of my winter break getting settled and I feel that this semester is going to be even better than the last. I found my box of school supplies, I have all my textbooks for class, and I know I have got the hang of once again being a full time college student.

I thought I was going to be a lot less prepared, before the start of the fall semester I had many concerns that I wasn’t going to fit in well, that I was going to feel awkward and worse-that I would immediately stand out as the ancient adult learner in a classroom full of younger students. The latter does happen, I usually am one of the oldest, if not the oldest student in the class, but it’s a fact that isn’t immediately apparent. Most are shocked to learn that I am almost 40. Heck, I am shocked that I am almost 40. It would be depressing if it wasn’t so inevitable.

Last semester was very revealing. I learned that academic life suits me well. I learned that attention to detail does in fact pay off. I also learned that a hectic scholastic schedule does not stress me out nearly as much as it could. I theorize that perhaps I thrive from having to come up with solutions to solve the problems of how do I finish these assignments/study for tests and still spend time with my children, take care of my household and involve myself in their school life and still have a little bit of time left over for me… it’s invigorating.

The mental exercise also gives me a healthy appreciation for the down times, and those moments when there isn’t much going on. I know when to just sit on the couch and do nothing but watch Netflix or play video games with my kids all day and not beat myself up because I wasn’t doing something more productive. Who’s to say sitting on my butt isn’t good for my peace of mind every now and then? Besides, time spent with my kids is never a waste of time.

I feel much as I did when I was a little girl. Eager for the first day of school, for the excitement of taking notes in a new notebook and this time I am actually looking forward to meeting new classmates (let’s hope I don’t get too many derpy people in my classes) and maybe I’ll get lucky and have a few folks I already know in some of my classes this semester too.

I spent several weeks prior to the first day of registration poring over the class schedule and my degree plan to figure out what classes I needed in order to craft the perfect schedule with the better teachers (for my personality style). I am REALLY looking forward to this semester.

Here’s hoping my classes are as great as I have built them up to be in my mind… (queue dramatic music)