It's Never Too Late To Go Back To School

There is one simple truth when it comes to education and learning; you are never too old. We learn from the moment we are born until the moment we die. So, if anyone tries to imply that you are too old to go back to school, they are wrong.

A famous example of a person going back to University is Natalie Portman.

Natalie Portman has even taken the time to be a judge for Mediums competitions. I have to say; this lady keeps busy. She graduated from Harvard, but she also followed that up with Hebrew graduate classes from the University of Jerusalem. Although honestly, I have studied Latin, Hebrew would break me.

I know it can be difficult in today's world to re-enter education, but it is always worth it. No level of education is unworthy. Whether you choose to do, be it a night class, achieving your GED or finishing a Masters, each one is a great accomplishment. One that you should be proud of because you will be enriching yourself.

I promise you; this is not a do as I say, not as I do, article. At the moment, I am two-thirds of the way through my bachelors. Once I graduate, I will graduate with a BA(Honours) in Creative Writing and Classical Studies. It is taking me six years as I am doing it part-time through distance learning. As a mother of three, who has disabled children and multiple animals, including horses, it's hard to find the time. I try to fit in an hour every day to study and work around my home life and freelance writing career.

My story isn't different from others. First, I wanted to go to college, but life got in the way. First, my grandmother had a heart attack when I was 18, and I was her primary carer. Then things snowballed out of my control, and I ended up dropping out of the Associates in Arts degree I was taking at the time.

I had planned to become a teacher, but family came first. I ended up taking a job as a daycare worker before meeting my husband and moving to Scotland. During the first couple of years, I was able to take some adult classes at the local college, but it was art and psychology. The classes were more for fun than advanced learning. There were no universities anywhere near where we lived, and in those days, remote learning wasn't a thing yet. So, there wasn't an option to go back to college unless we moved. My husband had a secure job, and I became pregnant, so the idea of further education was moot.

Family Life

I am lucky enough to have lived a blessed life. Of course, there has been loss and grief, but everyone experiences these things. I know how lucky I am to have been able to live the life that I have. Over the next decade, I gave birth to four children, sadly losing one, but as I said earlier, the loss is part of life.

I probably learned more being a mother than I had in all my years of formal education. Being a mom of an Autistic child tends to turn you into an expert in several fields quickly through necessity. It still surprises educators that I do not have multiple degrees when it comes to additional needs education. My knowledge base is vast, but I have spent the last 15 years studying everything I could find on the subject. Not only concerning Autism but also rules, regulations, benefits, speech and language and many other topics related to my child needs.

I can't express how helpful it is going to the table with knowledge of how things work when you have to advocate for your child. It has helped us tremendously over the years. Also, real-life experience does transcribe to work in a lot of fields. For example, even though I did not have degrees, it did not stop me from working in additional needs education. I had learned most of what was taught over the years by being a mother of an additional needs child and by research. In this respect, a person does not need traditional education to learn. Thanks to the internet, we can self-teach ourselves far beyond what was previously available.

The Open University

In the UK, the Open University is the number one go-to for remote learning. So four years ago, I took the plunge and began my bachelor's degree. Full-time can be done in three years, but I needed to take the degree part-time because I'm a full-time carer and have several time-consuming responsibilities. I now have two years left, and once I finish this degree, I plan to go straight into my Master's degree.

Overall, you need to be able to dedicate around 13 hours a week to study. The resources available are fantastic, and student services are always helpful. I can't say what other remote learning facilities are like, but I can say that the OU has been fantastic. I have met people from all walks of life who have taken the education journey; From younger students to retirees. There is no pattern set in stone for the Open University, and anyone willing to study and work hard is welcomed even if they had been out of education for years.

Even though I am now 44, I am working towards my Doctorate. The plan is that once my husband retires (He is now 50), he can take on the carer's role for our son. I will then work as a lecturer at the university level, possibly for my own Alma Mater. If I can do it as scatterbrained as I am, anyone can.

To conclude, don't be afraid or ashamed to go back to school if you want to. There is nothing wrong with wanting to enrich your mind. You may wish to study for a better career, change the direction of your life, or learn about things that interest you. But, please, don't let anything stop you from achieving your dreams.