Going to College?---Even Old Timers Get Those First Day Jitters
Posted: Tuesday, July 25, 2006
by Sandra E. Graham
My Books and Articles
If you look in the mirror and there’s more gray in your hair than Carter has little liver pills you may wonder, “what the heck am I doing!?" The butterflies in your stomach are wreaking havoc with your French toast breakfast. It’s only the first day of school---yours. So you’re going to college and you’re as old as dirt---or at least, that’s the way you feel and that’s the way you’re afraid the other students will think of you. You are so nervous that you don’t know whether to vomit or crawl back into bed, burying yourself under the covers for the next few months or maybe both.
Ok. I can do this. I can do this. That phase has run over and over in your mind like a stuck 78 rpm as you drive through the parking lot looking for a place to park. So what if the entrance to the building is a mile away!? You left the house at six o’clock and your first class doesn’t start until eight leaving you an hour and fifteen minutes to walk through the door of your first ever college course.
The five or so students that have arrived ahead of you mistake you for their instructor. It’s ok to feel flattered they are all just babies and the pink flush in your cheeks will be mistaken for makeup. Not wanting to draw attention to yourself, you pick a seat in the middle of the classroom as opposed to the very front or the very back.
The clock ticks and the classroom begins to fill with noisy students, talking and laughing without a sign of the trepidation that you feel. A hush falls over the room and you look up to see the instructor standing behind his desk.
He reminds you of your son---when he was much younger. Then you realize you had been praying that he would be older---much older but it’s not to be that at least one person in the room would be older than you.
Suddenly you relax and smile---a very senior gentleman has just entered the room and taken a seat just ahead of you. His hair, unlike your salt and pepper gray, is snow white. He smiles and everyone smiles back thinking, you are sure, that he must be Santa Claus with his rosy cheeks and red nose. The only thing missing was the beard---which he probably doesn’t wear during the summer.
At the end of the day you are strolling to your car, waving at the other students and calling them by name. You feel good. Smiling to yourself, you think about the events of the day. The younger students and instructors have been very solicitous, so age does have its advantages. You have never been treated with such respect as you have received this first day of college and you are gratified to find that your worldly experience has held you in good stead throughout all your classes. All in all, it has been a good day and you are already looking forward to tomorrow.
Going back to college at or past middle age needn’t be an unpleasant experience. Just think about the knowledge from life experiences that you have to share with your much younger fellow students and teachers. A lot of the things that they can only read about, you have already lived.
So if you’re thinking about going to college, don’t hesitate because you might feel out of place at your age. Take it from someone who’s been there---it’s an experience well worth the investment. I went to college part-time for several years and finished right after I turned fifty four and some of my more enjoyable and memorable times were spent on the campus of Eastfield Community College in Texas and Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
Don’t ever let age alone hold you back from anything that you really want to do.
END
by Sandra E. Graham, author of “Amos Jakey", published by American Book Publishing soon to be followed by “Nicolina".
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)Wow! I'm 40 and just started college last week and I'm just now calming down! All my classes are online and most of us are over 30, so it helps a bit, but the counselors are so young. I loved this article and it was very helpful! I appreciate the humor in it as well!
I first re-started college last year and once the initial fears were conquered, I haven't looked back. As a retiree I can really relate to old-timers first-day jitters. I enjoyed this article very much and would like to see more from this author. Returned to College and Loving it!
I left school at 16; however, my education really began at that age. They did not teach me what I wanted to learn in school. The knowledge I have acquired through the years did not make me rich financially. However, I am still learning what I want to know If I ever find a solid foundation to stand on. Then perhaps I’ll try to use college to refine my goal. (“But that’s me“)
I like to think that everyone would take advantage of the hospitality that all our universities extend to older students. Where I attend college, we have several older students who didn't even graduate from high school, but had enough courage to work for a GED and continue on.
I too have just started college. Summer was my baptism , i took a lone class of psychology, I was petrified, and at age 51,every smile is a scary wrinkle. My first day I left home one hour before ,although my college is only 15mins away.I took my scary butt to college and found an enlightening class, made wonderful young college friends, passed the class with an A and have registered for Fall. I am ready again. People I am 51, My husband has degrees from Yale, my son is an engineer, and my daughter is in college . I am having the time of my life. It is fun to be in college now. You will not die, but will experience a rebirth of
yourself.
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