Going Back to School

Technically, I’m not ‘going back,’ since I’ve been studying in higher education for three and a half years now. Yes, pushing 50 and still doing the college/university thing.

I started out taking accounting, because I needed to make a living to support my family. But one of the things I learned in accounting was that accounting is as boring as watching snails run a marathon. And when you combine the fact that the book of tax laws makes the Wheel of Time series look like a short story and they change a bunch of those laws every single year, it just isn’t worth trying to keep up.

But, I was still stuck in the ‘I have to do this to make money’ mentality. But here’s the thing: I had a three-year college diploma in Business Administration – Accounting, and nobody would hire me. Why? Because I didn’t have a DEGREE. That college diploma? Nope; employers want the whole enchilada just to get started. I mean, I intended to get the degree anyway, but it’s tougher to do that when you can’t feed your family.

Meanwhile, I learned about writing and how much fun it was, and that I actually could, eventually, make decent money as a self-published author. So, after three years of college and half a year of online university study, I made the decision and switched out to another major at another online school. I’m going to have a history degree when I’m done. And oh, what a difference it has made.

First, the courses are actually interesting. Instead of taking a mandatory course discussing the arcane cultural nuances of Luxembourg, I took courses that were actually relevant to what I want to do. I want to write sci-fi; I’m studying Astronomy and learning all kinds of cool stuff about the solar system. And what writer wouldn’t benefit from learning history? The Cold War is just littered with story ideas, from spy stuff to science fiction (let’s go back to the moon!), action and adventure to political thrillers. And the best part is, I got to live through the last twenty years of it. So, this course is both relevant and fun.

I am taking a creative writing course, which has helped me in the sense that I am thinking of stories that otherwise I never would have considered; I just wrote a story from the point of view of my eleven-year-old son (when he was six). I wouldn’t have written that if it wasn’t assigned. So, it’s a way to broaden my writing horizons. But it’s the only creative writing course I intend to take.

I think that the switch away from accounting was a great decision, because it just wasn’t what I wanted to do. I’m pretty good at it, but it’s just not something I care about. With a history degree, though, I can use it to boost my writing (especially since I can take other courses that touch on relevant subjects, like Astronomy), and I can probably get work as a history teacher as well. And I love teaching.

I don’t know if there’s a moral to this story, but I guess it comes down to the simple fact that there are a lot of people stuck in dead-end careers, miserable and feeling hopeless. Don’t be like that; find something you love, find a way to monetize it, and take steps to make it even better. And above all, have fun. Because being rich doesn’t compensate for being miserable.