Typically, a college classroom is filled with students who have recently graduated from high school. Suddenly, a person much older than them arrives in the classroom. The classroom becomes so silent that the classroom ultimately becomes like a library. The middle-aged student, Tom, takes his seat with the rest of the class. Apparently, every classmate thought that Tom was the instructor for the class.
Humiliation might be a reason that not many adults return to school. However, there are many other factors that suggest that adults are not returning to school. Adults might not return to school due to finances, difficulty with classes, and the most common excuse of all, “I will do it later.”
The fact that Tom is now the center of attention is one of the reasons why adults do not want to go back to school. For instance, even though Tom knows that returning to school would provide a better life for him, his initial thought will be, “How will other people regard me? When the professor asks a history question, would all the classmates’ heads turn to me for the answer?” As over-dramatic as that sounds, people become discouraged to try new tasks due to the embarrassment.
This scenario is similar to why overweight people would not want to join a gym. Anyone can join a gym, but what if the overweight person walks into a gym filled with supermodels? As a result, the person would feel self-conscious about their appearance, and he/she would feel unenthusiastic about joining a gym.
A little advice for Tom would be to pay no attention towards other people’s judgments. Education is never limited based on your age. Everyone is entitled to learn about anything. Tom came to the University with intentions to have a better life. However, attending a college does not come cheap.
Unfortunately, returning to school is only a dream for some people, unless you have plenty of money. Currently, the economy is not in the best shape. As we all know, the majority of students usually fill out student loans. However, most adults want to avoid applying for loans. Due to the increases in tuition, it is impossible for many to return to school.
Even when they do apply for student’s loans, they have to pay back every cent or more due to high-interest rates. People who graduated from college in the 1990’s are still paying back their student loans, although they often say that they are enjoying their new career path. Scholarships and grants can help many people along the way to pay tuition. For instance, many college students receive scholarships through their workplace. In other words, if a college student works for a company, the company might be able to provide the student with a scholarship.
It’s hard to earn money to pay for college, but what about the studying for every class? According to my academic adviser, college students should spend 3 hours studying for every hour spent in class. However, it depends on the difficulty of the course. If one finds a course very simple, then obviously, they are spending less time studying for that course. For instance, some people might spend a few hours studying for a chemistry class. Assuming that the college student can balance her studying time and work. As a result, so many students become very stressed out with the workload. So, it is better to identify your stress sooner before your health is in jeopardy. For managing stress, a lot of people have found meditation very refreshing. Consider the fact that you are taking a breather from the hectic workload. There is time but use it wisely. Never put off your dreams and think “I will do it later.”
During adulthood, people undergo a midlife transition. A midlife transition is a time when a person reassesses his or her personal goals, sets new ones, and prepares for the rest of their life. This mostly occurs in a response to a career change or maybe an event that caused them to question their past decisions and current goals. Everyone hopes to achieve financial success, such as a steady job, or maybe even excel at an outstanding job, and earn that advanced degree. Adults should stick to their goals and never tell themselves, “I’ll do it later.” As adults grow older, they realize that they are running out of “later.” Next thing they know, their ambitions have become unrealistic, and others will be, too, if they do not start now! Until adults come to the realization that they cannot abandon their dreams, then they can act on it now. They can go back to school, set up a business of their own, or even try something else they have always wanted to do.
The advice is very crystal clear: To increase the chances of feeling content with oneself in middle age and beyond, make good decisions when you are still young. Do not wait for a midlife crisis. Get started now. Do not wait another day or else your dreams with just be in the clouds. So when you step on the graduation stage, you would feel like your hard work has finally paid off.