I want to take this opportunity to encourage someone, anyone who is reading this testimony, to let you know that it’s never too late to be educated.I went to college immediately after I graduated from High School.However, things took a very quick turn when I had my first child.As the scenes of my life unfolded, school was put way on the back burner for over 40 years.When I finally had time to resume my education, I returned to college and, once again, I was faced with another series of unexpected chain of events.However, I had already began to take my classes and refused to stop.Something will always come to hinder your progress, but you must be determined to let nothing stop you from achieving your goals.I almost allowed my age to stop me, thinking I was too old to go back.But, I was determined to get my College Degree and would not allow anything to stop me.
God sent people who I didn’t know personally to encouragement.In her book “Achieving Your Dreams After 60”, Karen Pepkin and Wendell Taylor rights “What if there were another point of view? What if aging brought about, not decline but our greatest accomplishments? What if we looked at aging as Dr. Christiane Northrup does? She tells us that “getting older is inevitable, but aging isn’t.”We think of them as the 3 P’s: Passion, Perspective on Life, and Persistence.
Passion, by definition, is any compelling emotion or feeling. These individuals either had a strong belief in what they were doing, or in the case of those with an artistic bent, they couldn’t help creating, whether it was writing, painting, or acting.
Perspective on life emerged as a theme when we noticed that several of our seniors commented that they couldn’t have achieved their success at an earlier age.Having lived a long life enabled them to learn from failures and successes, establish a clear focus, and develop a unique perspective.
Our last P is Persistence. This theme became apparent when we observed that many of our seniors faced daunting obstacles and accomplished their goals by sheer will and determination; they did not give up. (Pepkin & Taylor 2014)
Today, at the age of 59, I am very happy to say, that I am only 15 credits away from getting my BA Degree in Psychology and will continue on to get my Masters, and my Doctorate in Psychology.It’s never too late and hopefully I have motivated someone to pick up where they left off and pursue their education.Be encouraged my friend.
Reference:
Pepkin, K. and Taylor, W., April 10, 2014. Senior Wonders: People Who Achieved Their Dreams After Age 60
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Mrs. Nola Ochs graduated from college at the age of 95, and continued taking classes until she was 100 years old. She earned a general studies degree with an emphasis in history from Fort Hays State University in 2007. At the time, the Guinness World Records said she was the oldest college graduate in the world.
She went on to earn a master’s degree in liberal studies with a concentration on history in 2010, at the age of 98. She continued taking classes until age 100 before returning to her family’s farm near Jetmore. “When I came up here of course I knew I was old, but I didn’t pay attention to how old I was,” Ochs told CBS News in 2007.
After raising four sons — who’ve given her 13 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren — and after her husband passed away, Nola began picking up college classes to keep herself busy. After taking online classes for a while, Nola decided it was time to abandon the comforts of home, and move into student housing on campus.