Last weekend, I gave a retirement party for my husband. Jim worked 30 years for GM, and with the way things are going, this seemed the perfect time to retire. He won't be sitting around the house, however. Instead, he's trading one career for another: he'll soon be a licensed home improvement specialist.
All this has me thinking about my own life path; a path that has taken many turns over the years. When I think back, I would never have imagined that I would spend my 20s working in a hospital; or that my 30s would see me as a mother of two boys and a day care provider; or that in my 40s, I would clean houses and work for my sister's growing management/consulting firm. But what I really never imagined was that as I approached my 50s, I'd be an undergrad English major with aspirations of going all the way through a master's program (where and which one?... only time will tell).
I really don't know where all this will take me, but I'm not worried. Why? Because I already know that life is full of surprises. That while you may plan to go down one path, unexpected opportunities often take you in an entirely different direction. I came back to college not just to earn a degree, but to open my mind, and to explore the creative part of me. And I picked UB because I knew there'd be people like me. People who want to step beyond what they already know and challenge themselves in new ways. To go down paths that were once unimaginable.
It's taken me a long time to get where I am, and I still have a long road to travel. At the rate I'm going (as a part-time student), I'll be 51 when I receive my BA, somewhere around 55 for a master's. But I can't stop now. After all, who knows what my 60s have in store for me?
How about you? Are you going in a direction you never thought you'd go?
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
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2 comments:
Thanks for this post, Carol. I gave this 26yr old a little perspective. Sometimes we push ourselves so hard to meet up with society's timetable (graduate, marry, kids..), that we forget that our own life's twists and turns don't always match up with that timetable. I have a lot of respect for students who return to pursue a degree after working, having families and careers. And not suprisingly, they're usually great students! Thanks for sharing this and good luck to your husband!
Amen, sistahs! Loved your inspirational post, Carol! Thanks so much--may life never cease to surprise you!
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