Old is good

Last week I wrote about how old I sometimes feel being around all those young students.  But being (or feeling) old isn't necessarily a bad thing.  In fact, it often offers a distinct advantage.

For a start, age means more life experience.  I've done more than my fellow students, seen more, read more, talked to more people from a wider range of backgrounds - and all that adds up to knowing more about the world.  Which, in the Arts at least, is a big advantage.  I've been to other countries, worked in different industries, I've even been around for some of the stuff they've only heard about from their History papers.  Experience is gold.

I also know a lot more about myself.  Through long experience I've learnt how I learn best.  I know which studying techniques work for me and which don't.  I know what time of day I'm most productive, and when I'm better doing something non-academic.  I know what proportion of study to relaxation prepares me best for an exam.  And I know how much lead time to give myself for projects.  Those are all things I certainly didn't have figured out at 18 (my grades from back then are evidence of that!).  It's taken years of learning about myself and how I respond to many different working and learning environments to find out what makes my brain tick.  So now I can make the best possible use of the time I've got available for study.

And talking of time available for study, I'm a lot more in control of my own time than I was at 18.  The 40-something year old me doesn't have to go to parties just because all my friends are going - not only am I adult enough to know when study needs to take priority over fun, but my friends are adult enough to know why I'm making that choice.  The 40-something year old me also doesn't feel the need to stay out all night drinking when I do go out (actually, I didn't do that when I was 18 either - I was much too boringly goody-good.  But the peer pressure to do so was certainly there).  Yes, I do have work to go to, and a mortgage to pay, but I've had a lot of practice at doing those things, so they're not a huge burden.  And on the plus side, those things give me a comfortable home to live in, instead of freezing in a dingy student flat.  Life is definitely easier now than it was back then.

And of course the other big advantage of being older is that I'm in the same age group as most of my lecturers.  Which means I'm way less intimidated by them than I was at 18.  So I'm much more comfortable about speaking up in class, about going to office hours to ask for help, and generally about making the most of my opportunities.

So, mature students, celebrate your age and the advantages it give you.  You may never be 18 again, but really, who'd want to be?

Feeling old

Some days "mature student" feels very much like "old".  Like on Friday.  I was sitting outside in the sun eating my lunch, and listening to a group of students nearby having one of those debates that seem so deep and meaningful when you're 19, when you think you're coming up with ideas and arguments that nobody else has ever thought of.  And listening to them argue, all I could think was that I'd taken part in almost exactly the same discussion myself when I was their age - and it solved nothing then, either. 

That's the danger of spending so much time around students.  It's very easy to end up feeling old and jaded. Sometimes I catch myself on the verge of going into crotchety old woman mode, about to start the "you youngsters have it so easy" speech when I hear a particularly naive comment.

Like the time in a sociolinguistics class a few years back when we were discussing sexist language, and one of the young female students said she didn't see what the big deal was, because men and women are equal now, aren't they?  My 1980s feminist blood boiled, but I managed to restrain myself from a full-blown rant (well, mostly ;-) ).  It actually turned into an interesting class, with the tutor (who was about my age) and I sharing examples of sexism we'd experienced, but it made me feel so old knowing that so much of what we talked about happened in a time before my classmates were even born.

But being a mature student doesn't have to make you feel old.  There are plenty of times when being around so many young people makes me feel just as young as them.  Their enthusiasm and freshness can be infectious, and their readiness to grasp new ideas inspiring.  It can even be fun sometimes to re-enter those age-old debates about politics, religion, sex, and the meaning of life, and be once again among people who honestly believe their ideas could change the world.  Who knows, maybe they can...

Does being around students make you feel old, or young? Any tips for keeping yourself feeling young? Let us know in the comments.