Back to School

Some believe life is like following a path: education, career, kids, in some order or fashion. Sometimes the path veers to the left or right, but it continues forward, taking us wherever we need to go. Others see the path as cyclical and multidimensional, like pancakes stacked on top of each other, circling back around to similar points in time and experiences, always moving forward but not in a straight line.

I have circled around on some things more than I care to remember: multiple cities, different houses, various jobs. Now, twenty-seven years after completing college, I am headed back to school. While I've never really stopped learning, this is the first time I have circled back to formal education.

As a traditional college student, I was in an exploration mode, finding out what I was capable of doing, learning what would be the foundation of knowledge that my career, whatever it turned out to be, would later rest upon. As an adult student, I won't be exploring or laying a foundation, as I already possess considerable industry knowledge and can focus my learnings into real-life situations.

This time around the education pancake will not include parties, dorm life or free time between classes. Some things won't be different, as I will once again feel like a new student standing at the bottom rung of the academic ladder, faced with an increased workload and teachers who seem so incredibly smart.