I’m going back to school!

In Canada, September has always been synonymous with the start of the school year for most students. My heart swells with pride as I remember my daughter’s first day of school in North York, Ontario. New dress, new shoes, new backpack, snacks packed, kisses given, tears streaming down my face as I left her at the school and walked away. I think it was harder for me than it was for her. Was she having a good time? Were the other children nice to her? Was she making friends? Was the teacher patient? Would the teacher recognize what a special gem she had in her class?

Every year brought more challenges. New schools, new friends, sometimes drama with friends, sometimes drama with teachers (hint: they’re not all nice!), new goals set, new expectations. I didn’t like school. I loved education though. Wasn’t it Mark Twain who said “I never let my schooling interfere with my education.”? Life is just one big school – lots to learn out there.

Secondary education (high school) was better than primary education (elementary school), and college was even better. I’ve always been like a bit of a sponge, constantly looking for things to learn. Even when I worked two jobs in my 20s, I found time to go to night school so I could learn more about accounting and improve my French.

I didn’t take any courses for several years after my daughter was born. The company I worked for though believed in career development, so I was kept busy taking company sponsored courses – sometimes about their products, sometimes about time management and management development. In my current job, I’ve taken courses to learn more about mortgages and finances, but I haven’t taken any formal courses for the past couple of years. I kept myself busy with Toastmasters though, which in a sense is still a learning environment.

But now I’m going back to school.

Online. I’m taking a course called “The Science of Happiness” at Berkeley University, through edX.  Through all those years of taking courses, I’ve become a very serious person and if you asked me today if I was truly happy, I don’t know how I’d answer you.

For anyone who’s interested, you can just google edX and browse through their courses. Or you can follow this blog as I share with you how the course is going.

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