Forty Year Old Blind Grandfather Returns To University*

[mmerriam]

Yes, indeed he does.

I managed to get through New Student Orientation on Monday and Tuesday, a process that seems designed to weed out the weak right away, as Monday went 14 hours long! However, by Tuesday I was registered for classes. I am returning to university after seventeen years.

Highlights of the two days.

Parent orientation was going on at the same time, and I had a very nice woman (who's daughter is an incoming mortuary science major) ask if I was there with my new student. I smiled and told her I was the student. She was silent for a few minutes, but her daughter chuckled.

I was the oldest person in my orientation group (big surprise). I was older than the orientation coordinator. I'm about the same age as my academic advisor.

The one person I really connected with was my academic advisor, who pretty much approved my schedule without question.

New students coming to orientation are required to stay the night on campus, regardless of whether they are squeaky new incoming high schoolers, veteran transfer students, international students, or just really older than everyone else. I got on the bus and went home Monday night. Please, I have a wife, and we've never spent a night apart since our wedding day. I'm not about to let the university interfere with that. Best moment concerning the overnight stay: my advisor, Carol, leaned over to me as we were talking in the hallway in Coffman Union, and whispered in a conspiratorial voice, "So, you're not really staying overnight, are you?"

Every time I told anyone I'm a Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies student, they would look at me in horror and say something like, "But there's so much writing in CLCS!" to which I would smile blissfully and say, "Yeah, I know."

I was about 200 times more prepared than everyone around me. At one point during registration, mortuary science girl looked at me and said, "You're so organized," in a plaintive little voice. An amazing number of people had not even prepared in the most rudimentary way.

Last night careswen slept with a college guy. Go careswen!

Now, I will admit that there is a little part of me that is wondering exactly why I'm going back to university. Honestly, I'm doing what I really want to do (writing) and I have no plans on making a big career change. So why?

I suppose the reasons are varied, but here are a few.

State Services for the Blind expects me to. And since they were good enough to pay for my time at Vision Loss Resources, and since the state is picking up my University bill, well, why not.

Because I want to. I can look at a course catalog and see tons of things I would love to study. I am intensely curious about almost everything (except math) and really, what better place?

Because I can. I've spent a lot of my life not being able to do the things I want for one reason or another, and suddenly I have this big opportunity. I should take it. Having an official piece of paper (or two) from a major university never hurt anyone's life.

That being said, there are some considerations. For instance, if by some fluke of the publishing world I should sell this first novel and sign a deal for another book or two (about as likely as being hit by lightning three times in row, I realize that, but still...), I might stop going to university. Like I said, I'm doing what I want to do with my life (writing) right now. I'm not going to let anything interfere with that.

The current plan is for me to attend classes during fall and spring, after which I will reassess the situation. Is this right for me? For my family (we want to buy a house. Maybe I should be working part-time instead of going to school part-time)? My career goals (is school taking a big chunk out of my writing time? Have I found myself placing my own work on indefinite hold to do assignments and write papers for class)? Is this helping me along or slowing me down? I think two part-time semesters will be a good indicator of how university will affect my life, goals, and work.

So I'm wary, but I'm also pumped. Go small, burrowing rodentia! Er...

In Peace,
Michael

*careswen gets credit for the title of this post. She said it last night in bed. Called me a human interest story, she did. We both had a good laugh.

Comments

[aino.livejournal.com]

I want to say a brilliant thoughtful admiration filled comment right here- assume I did. Then believe me when I say I clapped out loud.

Bravo.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

thank you!

[magentamn.livejournal.com]

Go you! Because you want to is a *great* reason to go back to school.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Wanting to be there, as opposed to going because I'm trying to get a degree to help me make a lot of money, or because my parents expect me to go, will serve me well, I think.

[mreauow.livejournal.com]

Yea for going back to school! As one who has been trying to write while going to school (and working full time) classes will get in your way with writing, but they will also feed your imagination in ways you won't expect. So expect your writing output to slow down a bit, but your quality to go up. If nothing else University offers some great people watching/observing which can always be counted as character research.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

One of the reason I want give it two semesters before I make any decisions isthat I know the first semester will interfere with my writing, simply because I will be trying to get use to academia again. By the second semester I should have hit a rythmn of some kind, and will know better how it will really affect my writing.

[porphyrin.livejournal.com]

Go you!

:)

Mike says he sympathizes with you about being older than everybody else (he's the same age as HIS graduate school advisor, give or take a year).

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the Go You! and tell Mike I said, yeah, they all seem so young. I fully expect to get asked at least once what I teach before it's all over.

Good-luck with the move, btw.

[allochthon.livejournal.com]

This is awesome and very brave of you! Will you be on East Bank? If so, we should have lunch and/or coffee on a fairly regular basis. I have lunch with those on the other campuses too, by the way. =)

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

I will be on the East Bank. All my classes during my first semester are within a block or so of Coffman Union.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

So where would be a good place to meet for lunch. I'll start classes on the 6th of September, and I have a large gap between class on a couple of days. I would be nice to see a familiar friendly face, quite frankly.

[polymathematic.livejournal.com]

The person who said writing quality should go up was probably on the right track. University forced me to study topics, that although very interesting, lacked enough appeal to make me study them on my own.

Last night careswen slept with a college guy. Go careswen!

I was reading the post in a somewhat random, so I'll have to admit that when I read that I thought, "Interesting, I didn't know they were poly".

You are an inspiration to us all!

[hilarymoonmurph.livejournal.com]

I hope that you enjoy and explore the vast array of offerings available to you.

BTW, have you ever read Zelazny's Doorways in the Sand? Your post reminds me of that novel, and I am not quite sure why.

Hmm

Re: You are an inspiration to us all!

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Yes, I have read Zelazny's "Doorways." the protag was trying desperately to not graduate college while attending college, and so had changed his major multiple times. Finally the college designed a degreed program around his credits, forcing him out!

[akillianna.livejournal.com]

Im uber proud of you, that is so very kool that you are back in school. The grandkids must be proud! *wink*
Seriously, your mind is so strong you should not let it get mushy. Maybe you will even get inspiration from something in a class for a book?
I dont know what to say, i feel gooefy, still - i am so very proud of you!

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the encouragement. It is a big scary thing, this going back to school at such a late age, but as long as I have my friends to encourage me along, I should be fine1 :-)