Back to school

Thursday, January 9th, 2014

My new church

New year, new start, so they say, and it certainly has been for me.
I was signed off work for four weeks during December, a little longer than I could have anticipated, but you have to do what the doctor thinks best. And I am glad I did.
But it gave me lots of thinking time; time - as my doctor put it - to "reconnect" with myself. And it was during this time that I decided I wanted to do a college course, get back into learning again after 16 years out of academia.
I wouldn't say I was ever a keen learner. I enjoyed school, less so college, and even less so again university, but the reasons behind that are complex and not for here and now.
So I was quite pleased to leave university and enter into gainful (and well-earned) employment at the age of 21. But all these years later I feel it is time to start learning again, and learn something new. I've never wanted to go back into education before now, but I have come to realise that it is a mystery why we stop actively educating ourselves at 18 or 21 - why should education be reserved for the young (it's kind of wasted on them!).
Anyway, I signed up for my course on Monday lunchtime, and the first session was last night, so it was a quick turnaround.
I won't pretend that I wasn't impossibly nervous. It's quite scary going into an academic environment when you're not used to it, surrounded by spotty youths who you can't really relate to (or they you). I did wonder whether I was doing the right thing, whether the course would be full of 17-year-olds and I'd be the oldest there, old enough to be their father (god, that's depressing beyond words).
But it was OK, you know. I always say that nothing is as bad as the fear of it, and it's true. There were 15 people on the course, all sitting in a semi-circle in a room and all complete strangers. We were all in the same boat, although some were more confident in the environment than others.

Workbook and learning journal

After three hours we all felt much more relaxed, both with the course and each other, and there are nine more weeks to go yet. I have my "learning journal" (nowadays you have to write about your learning experiences, as well as about the topic itself!) and my workbook.
I have no idea whether this is the right course for me, but so far it feels like it can be. It's something new, different, refreshing and challenging, all things I need in my life right now.
As I said last time, 2014 is going to be a very good year, and this is the first step in a long but important journey.
I almost never went through with this course, almost talked myself out of it, almost never got out of the car before going in. But I found I was not alone, and making a journey with others is the best type of travel there is.

Bedtime stories and amazing adventures

Wednesday, November 13th, 2013

My ongoing task of sorting through my past and ridding myself of unwanted clutter has reached children's storybooks. Blimey, what a blast from the past!
Asterix, Noddy, Thomas the Tank Engine (why do people call him just "Thomas the Tank"? I've never understood that, he's a train, not a tank), The BFG, Rupert the Bear... the list goes on.
And they are such lovely books, most of them beautifully illustrated and they act like time machines right back to my childhood. Bedtime stories with my dad doing all the funny voices, marveling at the pictures and imagining being in them, playing the story out as if I am in it.
I miss the innocence of being a kid, when the only things that really matter are largely contained within the imagination. Not many children bother themselves with the mundanities of adulthood.
Losing yourself in a good book is one of the best feelings for anyone of any age, and I still do it now. But it really does mean more when you're a kid and the boundaries between reality and fiction are much more indistinct.
So I'll be getting rid of Noddy and Rupert and Asterix with a heavy heart, because losing those childhood stories is like permanently turning my back on parts of my past that I treasure.