Reminisce

I went to institute today.  There was a class for moms and their kids.  There wasn't a teacher, which was slightly disappointing (I'm a student who likes structure.  Constructivism never really was for me), but we did discuss a talk.  Most of the girls had husbands in medical school or law school.  It got me thinking about grad school.  

They all talked about how hard it is to have your husband in school all the time.  What a difficult time it is for them.  When I think back on our grad school years, I feel so happy.  It was a time of real growth and learning.  Granted, Heb and I were both in school together, we didn't have any children and we'd lived in the same place for some time so we had formed some roots.  

For me, grad school was one of the best times of my life.  You probably wonder how I can say that, with all the stress and homework but I loved it.  It was one of those times when I knew that I was in the right place at the right time.

After graduating with my undergrad, I had a rough couple of years.  I worked at several places and tried to find a job or a place that really fit me.  I didn't have such good luck.  After being laid off, I took some time to think about who I wanted to be.  It was then that I realized that I wanted to go back to school and that I wanted to study Instructional Technology and Design.  When I made that choice and applied for the program, it's like everything fell easily into place in a way that it hadn't before.  Within a couple of weeks, I had two part time jobs that I liked and I was ready for school. 

The years that followed were filled with learning theory, learning flash and web design.  Reading books like Human Performance Systems and the Systematic Design of Instruction.  I created things that I never had the capacity to do before. 

My culminating project was for the Utah State Library.  I surveyed librarians across the state and analyzed the data to present to their board.  In grad school, I watched myself grow.

On my first day of grad school. 

Presenting my project at the State Library.

Now that I am a mother, I don't have as many opportunities to use the skills that I developed but I am so happy that I had that opportunity to pursue my degree.  I always carry the things that I learned, not just about the subjects but about myself. 

How are you pushing your boundaries?  Do you have an experience that really impacted the way you look at the world?