“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”

Grant Allen, 1848-1899

               College life.  After 24 years, I never thought I would go back.  You might be wondering why a middle-aged guy like me would want to go back to school.  To be honest, I am wondering myself. 

               The quote above best describes me and my attitude towards formal education.  I attended college back in the early 90s only to get a credential.  I never took schooling seriously.  I was a rebel, an anti-social even, who didn’t like conforming to the norms.  I took my education from the streets.  I studied on my own, as the need arises.  But then, things changed when I started a family.  I became more conformist.  And I regret what I did in my youth.

               It was late in my career that I realize the importance of a formal education.  I was always bypassed for promotion.  I can’t apply for better jobs at better companies.  So, I’ve decided to go back to school once more, to correct what was probably the biggest mistake in my life.

               Twenty-four years and here I am, 13,206 kilometers away from home, away from my family, on a brand-new start.  The better to be able to provide for them, I will have to make a sacrifice.  I am entering college again to have a better future.

               How is my experience so far?  It’s not easy, I tell you!  After such a long gap, one needs extreme adjustments, especially when people around you are young enough to be your kids.  Not to mention the fact that one is now in a totally different culture than one grew up with.  I have never felt so lost and alone in a crowded room.

               I signed up in the co-pilots program offered by the school.  A program which I hope would at least assuage the homesickness I am undergoing right now.  A program where I have the chance to learn about other culture and share in the beauty of humanity.  My chance for success is as much as my chance for failure.  I am not being a pessimist here, but rather, just being realistic.  If I may borrow from a poem by William O’Brien, “Better to try and fail than never try at all.” So that, by the end of my life’s journey, I can peacefully close my eyes without worrying about the what ifs and what might have been.  After all, the best education in life is life itself.

References:

Image taken by the author from the Durham College Oshawa campus

Grant Allen, 1844-1849, Canadian science writer and novelist
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/09/25/schooling-vs-education/

Durham College Co-Pilots Program
https://durhamcollege.ca/info-for/international/new-and-current-students/co-pilots-program

William O’Brien, 1852-1928, Irish nationalist and journalist
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/better-to-try-and-fail-than-never-to-try-at-all/