Never Too Late, No Matter Who Says What

I overheard someone say it again this past weekend: "I'm just too old to do that. It's way too late for me to try." Unless the man was talking about sky-diving or dating Paris Hilton, I can't agree. No matter what age we are, there is always time and energy to do important and meaningful work in this world. It's simply up to each of us to find it.

The really amazing thing I hear a lot from younger adults, in their 20s and 30s, is that they just don't think they can manage going back to school, even for an associate degree. From what I've seen over the past couple of years at St. Martin's University, the house, the job, the spouse, the sports team, even the kids, are all excuses that can be turned into assets with a little thought and planning.

Not everything will work out perfectly. Elsewhere in this blog i discuss some techniques for managing childcare logistics. Even with the best planning, though, everyone has childcare glitches that make stray days here and there really challenging. On the other hand, your child may get to meet your classmates. I particularly cherished getting to meet a little guy named Sawyer, who charmed an entire Women's Lit class with his patience and sunny smile.

Admissions deadlines are negotiable: check online, and then walk into the registrar's office and ask for help.

As for finances, have you asked? Check out scholarships, grants, and loans offered by your school, and go in and talk to the financial aid officer. You do not have to take out a bunch of loans to get through school; if you do the work and show you can excel at your studies, you can get grants and scholarships that will ease the way. Alternatively, you can continue to work and pay for each class as you go, taking one or two courses per session.

Or, you can get all the way to your 80th birthday, and wonder what you did with your spare time all the way back in the day as you get dressed for your shift as a greeter at Space-Mart because you were always too busy to get that degree.

With Thanks to W.T. Pooh

It's a blustery day, and if I look at the Sound out the window, I get seasick. The waves are raucous and bouncy, making the idea of being on the water in any kind of small boat a nasty proposition. That also means that it's too windy to sit outside and study.

So, Ralph Waldo Emerson and I are stuck inside. Waldo (who went by his middle name, according to friends) would have preferred reading and writing outdoors, if I understand him correctly. However, both of us must adapt to circumstances. One of those circumstances is that the Internet connection keeps going away and coming back. Waldo would have had a lot to say about that.

As it is, he would have been astounded that a woman like myself was trying to become an American scholar. And he would have needed to sit down and perhaps called for the smelling salts if he had heard of Hazel Soares. At 94 years old, Ms. Soares is the second-oldest person in the world to have graduated from college, according to an Associated Press story that ran in the papers last weekend. She took home a diploma in art history from Mills College, in Oakland, CA. By the way, the very oldest person to graduate from college, 98-year-old Nola Ochs, followed that feat up by receiving her master's degree last Saturday at a Kansas college.

Those two bits of information have settled a couple of things for me. No matter how long it takes, I am still headed for that PhD. in something, probably philosophy. If that takes seven years on top of the B.A. and the M.A., so be it.

And if anyone tells me, "Oh, I'm too old to go back to school," I'll dig this article about these inspiring nonagenarians out of my backpack and wave it in front of their faces. Age cannot be an excuse, because it is certainly not a reason. If you can still think and still learn, you can still do this.

Now if I could only convince the folks that authorize grants and fellowships . . .