Not many new pictures for you to peruse, but I don't like to post without something to look at so here is the lovely Miss V doing some hand sewing
And a lousy photo of a teapot cozy I made.
Really the colors are much nicer in person, I think I may have actually taken this with my cell phone. Not the smart phone fancy pants type either.
So here is my dilemma my friends.
I made it through my first year back at school and now I don't know what to do! I did fine for an old person. The yung-uns were pretty decent about having me take up space, not that they had a choice. They were even pretty amazed that someone of my advanced years could still operate a mechanical pencil.
I got 2 B's in my French classes, and an A in my geography class so grades aren't my issue.
My issue is this, is there a place for me ANYWHERE???
I am well on my way to my degree even with the 30 year hiatus for such things as life and other nonsense. Now, at present I'm at a university center, which does Associates degrees, which is handy since I need to fulfill my sciences and math before I can really finish. However I looked at a local private college for the actual finishing of my degree, and that is just not going to work. Expense, yes, but that can be dealt with if I am willing, and I am, to take it one class at a time. Worse, the art department is disappointingly small and unequipped. I can't picture myself getting my "real degree" there. But the most disappointing and disheartening part..............
the question I seem to have to answer over and over for EVERYONE - EVERYWHERE:
"What are you going to do with your degree?"
Do I have to DO something with it? Is that what this has to be about? Am I totally and completely nuts to finish it because I want to finish it? I'm not looking for a new career, I've had enough of those thank you very much. I am realistic enough to know that my dream job would never happen, especially since it seem to change with every step I take. So, be honest here friends, am I totally crazy? I say totally because I know what the answer is to "am I partly crazy?, or am I a wee bit off my rocker? or my personal favorite, is Mare a chucklehead?"
Does anyone think there is a school that will help me in this endeavor? Any advisor out there who will say, "sure, lets get your degree going and not worry one whit where it takes you!" Of course, come to think of it, that's sort of where my mind was at 30 years ago when I blithely declared my art major with no clue what I would be when I grew up. Gosh, some things never change do they? I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
6 comments:
This reminds me of when people ask me "what are you making that quilt for?" or "don't you have enough quilts?" Pursuing something to help you grow or learn or to try something new doesn't have to be for any other purpose! My advice is to take the next small step that feels right and see what happens. But for sure you need a big and beautiful art department!
You go girl!
What it boils down to is what your goal is. Is it to get the degree? Is it to get and use the degree. Only you know how crazy your idea is although I am sure your family would have plenty of commentary for you on your mental status!
"What are you going to do with your degree?"
Do I have to DO something with it? Is that what this has to be about? Am I totally and completely nuts to finish it because I want to finish it?
Love that question!
Myu husband works at a law school & you think they'd know the answer to that question right - problem is there aren't jobs for Lawers as Lawers, so even they don't know the answer. (How can anyone else?)
Um. . .I went to a pretty fancy, schmancy [expensive tho' scholarship covered] University and had my first baby within months of finishing.
With the exception of everyday life I have never used my college education for anything other than teaching my kids and such.
There are plenty of advisors and colleges that will happily take you on the path you wish. You are old enough to say this is what I want and this is how I am going to do it. Do what makes YOU happy and don't worry what others think. You will have the satisfaction of having learned new things and of the completion of something [your degree] that is obviously very important to you.
It's your life, your time and your money. Do with it what YOU want. I mean it girlie. You will regret it if you don't.
And no, this doesn't make you crazy. Now it doesn't mean you might not be a wee bit nutz about in other areas, but this? Completely normal.
Heck, my sister completed her art degree at 45 and went back to bookkeeping when she was done. But she is a better, more knowledgeable artist because of it.
If you are going just for the purpose of learning more about what you love, what is wrong with that? My sister went back to school in her mid-thirties and suddenly found herself pregnant again at 36. It took her six years to get her teaching degree because she had to work and then had two teenagers and a baby at home. She never used it in the technical sense, but she did end up homeschooling her son when he entered third grade.
I still love to learn,and do it all of the time in a variety of ways, but I have no desire to go to school, I just want to keep learning. And the reality is, that knowledge and those skills come in awfully handy in a lot of areas of my life, not to mention having nine grandkids now to pass all of it on to! Even if you never technically get a degree, or if you do and don't use it the way you originally intended, you still have everything you learned to teach to somebody else! Who knows? Maybe you will teach art on the side to various groups instead of schools. Maybe you'll refine your skills and what you've learned and open your own studio someday... the world is full of possibilities!
I like your teapot cozy! As far as your degree goes, I don't think education is ever wasted. If you are enjoying your classes, keep taking more. Congrats on your first year and to your Miss V.
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