Why Not Go Back To College?

One of the things I try to do every day is to look at what happened on the current date in history.  I look at who was born on that date and also who died.  It is incredibly fascinating to me, and I usually end up researching someone or something until my questions are satisfied.  In a way, I go back to college.  Now, I know that’s against my nature.  Anyone who is a regular visitor to this website knows how much I hated (a strong but accurate word in this case) going to school.  It sounds like a contradiction but, in my defense, I never hated learning new things.  I just had an intense dislike about getting out of a warm bed on a cold morning, waiting at a bus stop to go to a highly regimented environment where you needed to move to a designated classroom whenever the bell would ring to listen to a boring teacher (for the most part) who didn’t want to be there either.  You reversed the bus process in the afternoon to do homework for half the night.  While college was better, the professors were not and even I got bored in most of the history classes while I seemed to change my major every semester.  So, why would I want to go back to college?

I like the learning aspect.  I like researching different topics and every new fact I learn leads to more questions.  We live in a fascinating world and retirement is a time when you can enjoy it fully.  You can do it at your own pace and follow the facts wherever they lead you.  There are no tests or term papers, and you can incorporate it into your travel schedule.  When you’re able to learn in that fashion, I think everyone will want to go back to college.  It’s one thing to learn about history but it’s another thing to take a tour of a battlefield or visit Independence Hall or see the Alamo in person.  History can truly come alive.  Fortunately, my wife is a willing participant.  She will go anywhere and do anything as long as there isn’t a test.  But it doesn’t have to be just history that you study in this manner.

Going to a zoo or on a whale watch can become a tremendous learning experience.  We have gotten totally “lost” in a butterfly garden and even an aquarium when the information is provided in an interesting way.  My wife and daughter regularly watch nature shows and the knowledge they’ve gained is incredible.  In a very real way, they go back to college every time they watch a new episode.  And my wife could almost assist in surgery from all the medical shows she watches.  She’s seen enough knee replacements that she could open up her own practice.  Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but she has acquired a lot of knowledge over the years, and she is always pointing out people who need a new knee or a new hip and she’s almost always right.

You can go back to college without sitting in a classroom.

When you reach retirement age, it’s rather amazing to sit down and look at everything you’ve experienced in life.  You can easily forget all of the events that you live through.  It’s one of the reasons I look at the events in history for each particular day.  Some of the events are more interesting than any movie or soap opera could ever be.  Some of the characters throughout our history would be almost unbelievable if you encountered them in a novel.  Some are good and some are bad but they’re interesting to read about.  You realize where the saying that truth is stranger than fiction came from.  The internet is a treasury for documentaries and old broadcasts.  Even though we lived through the events, we didn’t get the whole picture and that is the really interesting part of historical research.  You really do go back to college in a way when you watch interviews of people who participated in events.  In the hands of a good historian, you can learn new information about those old events and that is always fascinating to me.  Some events and people just defy description.  History is never boring to me unless you’re in a classroom with a teacher who just drones on about facts and dates.  Stop for a moment and focus on the people and the times that they lived in and you can’t help but become drawn into their story.

Watch an old movie and see what you notice.  Notice how the people talk and how they dress.  Look at how much life has changed.  You can go back to college very easily by really studying any classic film.  Even though the special effects of today have gone light years ahead of films made just twenty years ago, you can develop a true sense of appreciation for the film makers of old and research how they filmed those memorable scenes.  From the chariot race in Ben Hur to the parting of the Red Sea in The Ten Commandments, there’s a treasure trove of information and memories from the people who made those classics.  And don’t get me started on my all-time favorite of King Kong!  I have probably watched it fifty times and have seen every documentary about how they made it.  I find it fascinating.

Even though you may not be interested in old movies about giant gorillas or how they parted the Red Sea, or have no interest in butterfly gardens or the Bronx Zoo, I’m sure there’s a subject you’re interested in.  Why not explore it and go back to college in your own way?  You might develop a true passion for something and, when that happens, a whole new world might open up for you.  It could lead you on your next travel adventure, joining a club devoted to that topic, starting a new hobby, creating your own website for others to follow or even writing a book or a novel.  Retirement is a time for exploring and trying new things so get out there and get busy.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!

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