Tuesday, July 25, 2017

My Novel Freshman Experience—Part 2 Orientation



Orientation

If you missed it, I'm starting back to school and my first official school even was orientation. About a dozen adult students and grad students gathered and listened to the Adult Ed people talk about schedules, dates, parking...  Travis headed the team.  He asked who was nervous...no one raised their hands, but I glanced around the room and a few people seemed to fall into that category.  He talked about making sure you got the best grades you could in every class.  Scholarships and Grad programs rely on it.  I've got to confess, I wasn't nervous.  I'm in this weird position.  Most of the adult/grad students are working toward a specific degree with a specific goal in mind.

I have no goal.  I'm going back to school for fun and for personal growth.  And while I'd like to get good grades, I will confess, I'm sort of ambivalent about the idea of someone else judging what I learned and accomplished in a class. I've spent my entire adult life taking classes and learning new things.  From my work advising lactating moms, to learning sign language, to beer classes, herb classes, composting class, water conservation class, basketweaving classes...and oh yeah, writing stuff.  You've seen some of my eclectic learning reflected in my books.  I covered composting in Her Second-Chance Family, sign language in Do You Hear What I Hear?...

But here's the thing, none of those learning experiences came with grades. My kids have assured me that years of working at home in a fictional world has ruined me for the real world.  I'm my own boss. I create my work environment every day.  I create my coworkers...otherwise known as my characters.  I choose my projects, set my schedules and basically learn what I need (want) to learn for fun.  And I'll confess, even though I will be graded on this first ceramics class, I'm going in with that same sense of learning for the joy of it...for the glee of it if you will.

I plan to blog the experience, so watch for my first day of class at the end of August!

Holly


10 comments:

  1. I hope you have a ton of fun doing it, and I know you...you will march to your own beat no matter what. :-)

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    1. Susan, I think my marching to my own beat is what makes the kids so nervous! LOL

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  2. Looking forward to your August blog. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Gaby, I plan on taking you all along for the school ride!! LOL

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  3. Holly, I hope you have fun with your classes and learn lots of new things. As a retiree, I have enjoyed my enrichment classes through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Cincinnati. It's where I found my passion for knitting. I've made great friends along the way in addition to keeping my brain active. Can't wait to hear about your travels through academia.

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    1. Janet, I'm so glad you found your passion! I've wanted to take pottery for years and I think it's a great way to kick off a college career.

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    2. Holly, I bet you will have so much fun with your clay. I took pottery classes with a group of friends several years ago. I was a total failure working with the clay but we had a blast at each class. You will definitely need to post photos of your pieces. Enjoy!

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    3. Oh, you can be sure I will! I thought I'd follow this first class here and then keep up sporadic posts about what I take. I really think I have a unique perspective. I'm not doing it for a career or because my parents are making me...I just want to. LOL

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