Scrap Girls Digital Scrapbooking Forum: Too Old To Learn? - Scrap Girls Digital Scrapbooking Forum

At the age of 53 I found myself out of work due to the fact that the company I worked for found a cheaper way to get the work done and so moved their operation to another location. I was fortunate that my husband’s income could support us comfortably, but I began to think of what would happen if that income was not there. I only had a high school diploma and no formal training in anything. High school counselors had encouraged me to go to college, but no one in my family had ever gone to college and it was expected that I would get some kind of clerical or clerking job until I got married and settled down to be a wife and mother. And that is exactly what I did. I was married at 19 and had my first child before my 21st birthday. Money was tight but I loved my life. I am grateful that God provided me with such a wonderful husband and 3 great kids. For me it was a blessing to be a stay-at-home mom. When the kids got older I had a variety of part time jobs to help with extras. But I always wondered if I could have succeeded if I had gone to college and how I would have measured up to other students. I never had a lot of confidence and I was, and still am, very shy. Anyway, that company I mentioned earlier arranged for us ex-employees to receive free re-training at local community colleges. This was an opportunity I could not pass up. I took all my courage and went and signed up for a two year degree program in health information management. My own mother said “how will the other students feel about working with you since you are so-o-o-o old?” Well it turns out that they actually liked working with me because I had quite a bit of life experience that was helpful in group projects and they told me that my kids were lucky to have a mom like me. The fact is, I was the oldest student there. But I was a student that was not afraid to ask questions or speak up in class, so unlike the 17 year old me that was so timid that she never raised her hand in school. At my “advanced” age, I was less afraid of what others would think of me. I not only learned a lot about the medical field, but also a lot about psychology, economics, writing and using computers. There is no doubt in my mind that God has a plan for me. I wasn’t supposed to go to school earlier, I was supposed to raise 3 great kids (my son is studying to be a pastor) and then the time was right for me to go to school. I had a 4.0 grade point average and I wish I could end this by saying that I completed that degree, but the truth is that I still have 3 classes to go. I had some medical problems and my children had some challenges so I had to stop for now. I just turned 58 but I know that it’s still not too late to go back and finish. It gives me a level of security and confidence I didn’t have before and I just have to wait and see where God’s plan leads me.