Life has been lackluster recently and you can tell it’s time for a change. The good news is you don’t have to stay stuck. If you want to meet new people, your kids are all at school, or you lost a loved one, these are a few signs it’s a good time to go back to college and reinvent yourself.
You want to meet new people.
College is a great place to make new friends and more than friends. Photo: Shannon Abigail Simbulan on Flickr
Whether you’re looking for that special someone, or new friends to party with on the weekend, college is a great place to meet people. If you want to meet people with similar interests as you, get involved with the clubs at your college. There are clubs for everyone, including dancers, martial artists, entrepreneurs, runners, debaters, yogis, LGBC, feminists, and policial junkies.
College isn’t just for platonic relationships. I can’t tell you how many happy couples I know who met their significant other at college.
It’s hard to make new friends and cultivate relationships at first, but 90% is just showing up.
Your kids are all at school.
You put your education on hold once you started a family, but now that your kids are in school all day and your days are freed up, this is the perfect time to go back to college to finish your degree. To transition, you can start small with one class in child psychology, business, or Spanish class, of you can jump in with both feet and take a full 12-credit semester load. If you want to make sure you’re home when the kids get back from school, online courses can give you the flexibility you need.
Remember, the more education you have, the better parent you’ll be.
You lost a loved one.
After years of marriage, a woman lost her husband and was left with a gaping hole in her life. After taking the time she needed to heal, she decided to put her husband’s life insurance money to good use and go back to college and become the lawyer she wanted to be. Not only did college help take her mind off of her loss, but it gave her life a renewed purpose.
If you think it’s too late to go back to school, consider Nola Ochs who started at a community college in 1972 after the passing of her husband, earning a class here and there until she earned her college degree when she was 95 years old, graduating the same year as her granddaughter. It’s never too late to go back to college!
Hi Sarah,
Great reasons for going back to school. Learning really is a life-long process, and more people are taking advantage of educational opportunities throughout their lives - not just in the traditional after high-school phase.
I had waaaayyyy more fun (and academic success) when I returned to University in my mid-30s compared to the after-high-school degree I did. I was there on my terms then, not because it was expected. Having 10 years’ more work and life experience made everything easier to understand.
You’re absolutely right, Beth. Later in life we know ourselves much better which makes our chosen course of study aligned with our values and all that much more fulfilling as well!