College….the place you go when you graduate high school, but what if it’s not an option at the time for a variety of reasons? It could be that you opted to start a family, or you didn’t have enough money at the time, or were just not motivated. You now find yourself at a turning point in your life, a little more established, kids a little older and able to handle themselves, and you have a little more money than you did when you were eighteen. What can you do with your life now? Go back to school! Now is the time to go back. There are always going to be reasons you shouldn’t, but what about the reasons you should? There’s always the motivation of moving up in your job. Also, you can be proud of yourself for getting a degree and creating a new journey in your life. Going back to college can be intimidating, but start slow; there’s absolutely no reason to rush.

When you get up in your thirties and forties, life starts to become routine: go to work, come home, deal with family. You start to wonder, "What can I do to enhance my life?". One solution could be to go to college. It’s an experience you missed out on when you were younger that you can still pick up. It doesn’t have to be hard. Go to the college closest to your house or job and ask how you can sign up. When you start, start slow: take two classes your first semester just to get your feet wet, unless you feel up to the task of jumping right in and you feel like you can handle more. However, between work and family, two might be just about enough. Take up something that interests you. The class would seem easy if it’s something you enjoy. If you can’t think about what you want to major in, start out as a liberal arts major. This way, you’re taking classes that you will need when you do decide what you want to major in. If you love music or art, start with that. Those classes are needed for most majors. If you think you will be doing some traveling to destinations where the language is different, you can take a language class. Beginning French, Spanish, and even Chinese would be interesting to learn and can be a part of your eventual degree.

Once you have decided to go back to school, financing can be easy. There’s financial aid if you qualify and if you don’t, you can either pay out of pocket for two classes or most schools have a payment plan where you can play a little each month. It has become so much easier to attend college. All you need to do is take that first step. I myself am one of those who decided to go back to school after a while, and it was just something interesting to do at first. Now I coming to the end of this journey, and I can see graduation on the horizon and I’m excited. I want to finish and have my degree finally. This is something I did for me and I will be proud on graduation day and my family will also be proud of me. Do something for yourself, check into your local college, broaden your horizons and your thinking. If nothing else, you might get a raise at your present job or be able to leave your present job and move on to one you truly like. Take the chance, get your foot in the door. You’re never too old to better your life!