Inspiration: Taking it as Far as You Can

When I lost 40 pounds, an acquaintance kept telling me what an inspiration I was. Skeptic that I am, I didn't believe her because she was busily wiping the whipped cream from her double-tall-full-fat-mocha-latte-with-a-shot-of-caramel from her upper lip at the time. Still, she meant it as a compliment.

Now I hear the same word from people in my age group talking about my decision to go back to school, and it makes me crazy. I want to be finished with my degree work so I can seek out more non-traditional students and convince them to come back to the classroom. What use is inspiration if it doesn't motivate people to make a change?

I still have to finish the bachelor's degree, and the master's, and, probably, the PhD. More immediately, I need to pass the first mid-term in American History before 1877 this morning, so I'll leave you with this:

If you are an employed adult, look at the course catalog for the nearest community college, university, or parks and rec center. Choose a class and take it. Get in the habit of showing up for every class meeting. Do the homework. Lather, rinse, repeat -- it will be a lot different than high school, and you'll find you like it a lot better. At the end of next year, you'll have completed five, maybe six courses -- maybe even enough to get you to a degree of some kind. Otherwise, by the end of next year, you'll have watched all the episodes of Glee!, Dancing with the Stars, and all the First 48 reruns. Plus, if you're the average American, you'll have gained several pounds with nothing to show for it.

If you are an unemployed adult, read the above paragraph again, and get thee to a college registrar's office. There are programs available specifically for people who need to retrain or to complete academic degrees. You'll never have more time on your hands, and you could be at the start of something big.