Taking Classes for fun

I did everything the "right" way as a kid. Including going to college for a responsible degree. I was always hyper practical as a teen. I worked a lot and enjoyed my job. My boss even told me at the time, if I didn't want to go to school she'd hire me full time and I'd be making more money than if I got a degree. Funny thing is she was probably right.

I sat with all the college applications around me at 15, and I talked myself out of doing what I wanted, because it wasn't practical. In one hand, I had Tulane University's Writing program. I still think about the day I put that aside because although I wanted to write, I knew it wouldn't pay the bills, and I was nothing if not practical.

On the other side of the coin was a university that was only a state away and had a business program. Now...back when I took it, a business degree was a valuable thing. Unfortunately, my generation was the first to battle the baby boomers for jobs, and it's value tanked. 

I hated every single second of taking classes. Except for my entrepreneurship classes. Because I got to write a business plan. And although what I was writing still had to have concrete research and backing, I was writing. 

I never made the connection that it was the creativity I was missing that made me detest my other classes so much. But I worked hard, got almost straight A's, and took extra class load to get my B.S. in 3 years instead of 4. I threw up a peace sign and went off to marry my husband, buy a house, and start my life.

It took me a long time to return to writing. It took me even longer to admit that there were other subjects that interested me too. Now all of a sudden I'm plunking down spare cash for online courses. I'm currently taking a Tarot class, just because I love using tarot cards and want to learn more about them.

You couldn't have convinced 21 year old me, who was graduating college that I would ever take a class for fun, but here we are.

Finding things I'm fascinated about and surrounding myself with others who want to learn the same topic feeds my soul in a way I never got from my college experience. I realize it was because when I was 15 I put aside a chance to go to NOLA to be practical. I can't go back in time and convince myself to apply to Tulane, but I can embrace education in a new way as an adult.

Traveling down this rabbit hole of self-help and self-discovery as a grown up, I'm not afraid to do things my way. And that includes taking a tarot class. To hell with being practical. It's time to find some passion projects. Who knows...maybe they'll make it into a book. 

Do you take online classes? What are you doing that's bringing you joy in your life? I'd love to hear about it.

~Roxy