Yep, the idea hit me last week, and I'm investigating options. What brought this on you might ask? And a good question it is as I graduated over twenty years ago and never once thought about going back until now. I guess what may have triggered it is the test I took last Monday in order to become a certified food handler. Consisting of 50 multiple-choice questions (you had to get 35 right in order to pass), it was trickier than I thought it would be, and I had to really think through the 15 that I initially left blank. Of course leaving 15 blank made me a bit nervous at first as it occurred to me that I could only get that many wrong if I wanted to pass. But as I was going along, I realized that I was actually having fun trying to figure out the right answers. So much fun that I didn't care that almost everyone had left already, including the ones who started after I did. And taking that much time to complete the test actually paid off because the instructor offered to mark it for me right on the spot rather than having me wait two weeks for the results. What WAS the result? I only got 1 answer wrong! Couldn't believe it.
As I was walking home, and still not quite believing that I had gotten 98% on the test, I remembered how much I actually liked taking tests when I was at school, liked studying, and liked getting good marks. So what happened when I went to university? I started a four-year Honours Sociology degree, did well the first two years, and then my personal life got really messy before depression took over. My A's and B's quickly turned into D's and F's because I couldn't be bothered with writing term papers. I literally didn't care. In fourth year I picked myself up somewhat, and managed to take a couple of courses and get enough C's to at least earn a three-year general BA. But it always felt like I hadn't really completed what I set out to do, and I didn't even go to my graduation. Maybe because I felt I hadn't earned it?
The other factor is that a couple of nieces are now attending my alma mater! And another niece (of whom I'm extremely proud) was invited to study and teach Linguistics at UCLA. So I think these youngsters (now if that doesn't make me feel and sound old, snort) have maybe stirred up educational longings that I long put aside. But for whatever reason, the thought popped into my head that I should see whether I can go back and get that Honours degree after all. I would have to make up a couple of prerequisites, but then I'd get to take a bunch of fun-sounding 4th year Sociology courses. I'd do it part-time (because I don't like doing ANYTHING full-time), and even if it took five years or so, taking one course per semester would no longer break my piggy bank.
So yeah, I might go back to school! Let's see, I want to take at least a few of these fourth-year courses:
- Selected Topics in the Sociology of The Family
- Selected Topics in the Sociology of Culture
- Issues in the Sociology of Aging
- Individual and Society
- Sociology of Cyberspace/Internet, and
- Self and Identity
That last course sounds especially good: A consideration of theoretical and empirical questions relating to self and identity viewed from historical, cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary perspectives.
Neat huh? I'm hoping that maybe I can start next September. After that, who knows!
