Right after high school, I went to college. Majored in chemistry. Got pregnant and dropped out halfway through my freshman year.
A few years later, I decided to enroll in the community college, get through the first couple years of gen ed requirements and all of the philosophy classes that I could do there, and then transfer.
Except one day, I came home from a work study shift tutoring math and philosophy, on my birthday, to discover my then-husband and our roommate/my best friend packing their stuff and moving out.
I withdrew from classes with the intention of getting my life together and returning quickly.
"Getting my life together" took two decades.
By late 2022, I'd reached a point with my life and content creation business where my life was cheap and stable, my business was posting about whatever I wanted and sharing my journey as a Queer Heretic Nun and Contemplative Sorceress living a monastic lifestyle devoted to learning as much as I possibly could.
I decided that I would spend 2023 just studying and sharing what I learned. I used ChatGPT to design self-study curriculum on a variety of topics, and started following them. I even started learning Mandarin Chinese in March 2023, and by September was reading at a middle school level.
Then in September, I learned I could get a Fresh Start on my defaulted student loans.
I applied for that and got approved, which meant I was eligible for financial aid again.
So I applied for college. Decided to see if all those old community college credits would transfer to the local four-year University - a branch campus of the University of Michigan.
They did.
I forgot how well I did. I'd maintained a 3.9, and the only class I had that didn't have a 4.0 was a gym class that was attendance based and I skipped a couple classes - the class was mandatory if you wanted to be able to use the fitness center and was just 1 credit.
I'd overloaded on philosophy classes there, but I also had knocked the English and math requirements out of the way, so I just have a few more gen ed requirements, a few more major requirements, and then a fuckton of non-major electives to get in.
I did two philosophy classes, an English literature class, and an intro to anthropology class in the winter.
I was doing an art class and two political philosophy class in spring/summer split semester, but I got hit by a commercial box truck while riding my bike two weeks into spring semester, shattered my tibial plateau - the part of the lower leg bone that's right at the knee and bears all the weight - had two surgeries, a two week hospital stay, slept through most of June and decided withdrawing was my best option.
However, unlike the withdrawal two decades before, this time, I'm right back at it for the fall with two philosophy classes and two anthropology classes.
I'm 46 years old and I'm a junior in college and it is weird.
I love it.
I've opted for all online classes so far. Very glad that I did. When I registered for fall semester, I did not know I'd end up with a broken leg, so being able to do my human origins anthro labs from bed is really, really nice.
They're all asynchronous, so I can pace myself according to what works for me as long as I turn stuff in by deadlines.
And yes, even in middle age, the ADHD college student still does things the day they're due. Though with much less stress about it because I know that's just the way I work - I'm actually thinking about the assignments the whole time, so that when I do sit down to do them, the words just pour out, have to check some references, proofread, format according to professor preferences and submit - my Neuroethics paper took less than 20 minutes and I got an A.
I'm not stressed about grades - GPA didn't transfer, and I got a couple Bs in winter semester, so I've got a 3.48 GPA right now, with two years to go to bring it back up to where I'd like it, which I will. That first semester back was a big transition. I had a philosophy professor who marked my first paper a 0 because I forgot to double-space it and wouldn't allow resubmissions, and I'm not gonna lie, I half-assed the history class cuz the professor half-assed it himself and I just did not give a shit.
I partied my way through my freshman year of college all those many years back, and I'm well beyond any desire to party now. My life is devoted to study already, going back to college just gives me some external structure to work with the next few years - or however long I decide to do this.
I can't really say I'm learning all that much that's new information for me. Little things here and there like learning the exact mechanisms that cause ADHD executive dysfunctions, but I'd already arranged my life to account for them, so it was just a neat fact for me - though mindblowing for so many people that when I made a post about it on Facebook and on Threads, it went viral on both platforms.
I'm taking classes that interest me. In my year of self-study, I'd done a bunch of reading in anthropology, including a good number of open source textbooks, so I was really happy to discover how much I enjoyed the intro anthro class I took in the winter, and really happy to discover the same professor was teaching a religious anthropology class in the fall - snagged that as soon as registration was open, and I recently declared my intent to study the Jedi religion - in the real world, not the movies - for my final project.
Neuroethics
Social & Political Philosophy
Human Origins & Prehistory
Religious Anthropology
This is my current course load. I'd been enrolled in Spanish 111, but the pacing of the assignments in that wasn't working for me this semester - 3x week due dates when I was going to 2x weekly physical therapy, 1x weekly wound care, and EOW ortho surgeon check-ups was just not feasible. I still need to pick up two foreign language classes, or 6 credits total, but I've still got lots of time to get those in.
I'm not going for a career pivot - I have a career as a content creator and that's going quite well. Growing nicely. And returning to college is beneficial for that career.
It gives me stuff to create content about.
It's a bucket list item.
It gives me a chance to improve my skills as a writer and creator.
Not to mention we live in a bit of an elitist society where expertise in any given subject is often only acknowledged when the person has a degree, regardless of how much knowledge they actually have.
But really, I just like to learn.
A lot.
I want to know all the things.
Having some externally-imposed structure for that learning has turned out to be quite pleasant. That whole "you don't know what you don't know thing" is counteracted by learning from the people who do know.
What will I do with my degree?
Probably get another one. Or two. Or a few.
Conduct independent research projects based on my interests and the votes of my CuriousDAO members.
Create more and more.
Have fun.
Because what's the point without fun?
