I Can, I Can!

YOURS FOR THE LEARNING

I felt like a woman with a mission! About 2 years ago, after 2 years in retirement, a friend who teaches at the local community college told me the college would be offering a new Internet technology program in the fall of 2000. Without really thinking about it I immediately said “I’m going to enroll in it!”

Having owned a used bookstore until my retirement, I had begun selling books on the Internet just before I decided definitely to retire. I knew we’d need to supplement our income if both of us were retired; my husband had retired on disability at 55. I knew nothing about a computer when I began this new endeavor, so I’d daily ask my knowledgeable son computer related questions, always feeling that I was asking too much. Sometimes he’d start to explain something and I’d say, “wait a minute, I don’t know what you’re talking about”. Then he’d give me a very simple answer to whatever question I’d asked, knowing I could only take in so much of this foreign contraption jargon at a time. Usually much later I’d ask again and he’d say, “now you’re ready to understand that”. My desire was to know more, but could only navigate enough to get my books listed, and sales completed.

After I made the commitment, which I did when I said I would enroll, I set a goal to learn all I could in 2 years. That was all the time I was willing to give to college. After all I was already 64 years old and didn’t think I had too long to get it done and still have time to use it. My idea was that I would go the two years unless I tired of the grind before that, then I’d just stop, but I wouldn’t go for more than two years.

As I entered the classroom for the first time in 20 years, I felt so out of place with the younger students. Would they accept me, would the instructors help me when I needed it, or would they rather not have me in their classes? Somehow I knew I’d need more help than the average student, but I needn’t have worried, I immediately fell in love with my classmates, seemed like I had gained an entirely new family. I also realized the teachers respected me and were always willing to come to my aid. Though there were other older students, there were very few as old as I was, I usually had no problems such as being alone at breaks or lacking a study buddy, though I prefer to study alone.

My appetite for learning was whetted immediately and I was amazed at how much there is to learn about computers, we can never learn it all, also at how much fun I was having learning all that foreign jargon. It now feels so good when I’m with others who talk about RAM, ROM, Motherboards, drivers and DVD and I can converse with them or at least know what they’re talking about. I’ve never been very creative, but now my computer is my creative outlet, designing graphics and Websites. Maybe I won’t be able to leave them to my children as I could a sampler or beautiful quilt, but they’ll know their mother could and did create beautiful things. They’ll also know she had courage to accept a challenge.

I finished my Associate degree in Internet Technology in 5 semesters, just 2 years, at the top of my curriculum. I am now trained to do Web Design and can work at home or wherever I am with my computer traveling with me. This allows me to travel and do the things retirees are supposed to do.

I must give credit to my friends and family who encouraged me. I’ve always told my grandchildren “in this family we don’t even mention quitting school”, so when I occasionally mentioned quitting to them, I remember my grandson and others saying “no grandma, you can’t do that”, and they were right. After all, no one in this family can ever mention quitting school!

My goal and my prayer is that my skills can be used to share my faith and to somehow use my knowledge, no matter how limited it is, to help other older adults who may not be willing to go to school, but would like to learn the basics of the computer and the Internet.

I’m not writing this to tell you what I’ve done, but to encourage others who want to learn. I’ve heard several women my age or younger say recently “no I can’t learn that, I’m too old for that”. But I say, you’re never too old, the computer age has not passed you by. The knowledge is available for the asking, if you’re willing to “just say yes”! Contact your senior center, or your local community college and find out what’s available to you in whatever area you want to study. Remember, help is just a phone call away!

Philippians 4:13