What's next in my educational journey?

 

Achieving a Master's degree is never something I really saw myself as doing.  But, here it is in my 50th year and I have done exactly that. Now what?  I ask that as far as education goes.  I love being a student.  I always have.  Even when I didn't show it, I enjoyed my classes from kindergarten through today.  Somehow, I cannot imagine that my education is done. I have been a student for the last 6 out of 10 years and it is a strange feeling to think of not being in class.

Now I want to look ahead as to what comes next in my education.  While I do not necessarily want to get a doctorate, I will not completely dismiss the idea. But I want to keep learning.  Especially in something like gerontology and, for that matter, social work where my undergraduate degree came from.  In these kinds of humanities, there is always going to be something new to learn. So I am excited about that. I am going to look for some classes, be them online or in person, to enhance my degree.  I might even look for some certifications that would be beneficial for me.  These are all things I need to discuss with my advisor while I still can.  I mean, she would talk with me anyway, but might as well make it official before actually graduating!

I do better in life when I am learning something.  And that could be a skill or knowledge or whatever.  I look back on my life and I realize that those periods of my life where I was not doing well and having major issues (it happens, people lol) that I was not learning anything. I was coasting through life and doing things that were bad for me.  But when I am learning, I am much more focused in my everyday life and that is a good thing.  So, there's another reason for me to keep learning.  There are a few items on my 50 at 50 bucket list that involve learning.  Those are all recreational, but I am going to pursue them anyway. It's still learning, and I might as well learn something fun now that I've been in school for the past three years.

If I stop learning, I stop growing.  Mentally, that is.  I don't need to grow anymore physically right now haha!  So, here's to more adventures in my education!