The Perks of Attaining a Degree at 40

It's sweltering hot and my stomach is in knots as I eye the invigilator nervously as he approaches with the question papers in his hands.

'Why am I doing this again?' I ask myself vowing never, never to subject myself to this kind of trauma ever again. It did not help that in addition to the knots, I had a real stomach ailment as well.

Taking a gulp of water and forcing myself to calm down, I look at the dreaded sheet of paper.

'Okay,' I say to myself, 'I can do this'. Thereby start the three hours that seem to pass too quickly as I fervently fill in sheet after sheet with the assortment of information in my brain that I have to somehow make sense of and display brilliantly with some semblance of order and method. I undergo this rigourous event five times before it all ends and I collapse in bed, hardly to be seen out of it for two days straight.

'Never again,' I had said to myself. 'I needed a post-graduate degree, I am done (or almost as the result will determine- but I have hope), to further my career.' But two weeks after the 'ordeal' I find myself toying with the idea of trying my hand at another Master's Degree... in History to be precise, it would make for a great combo with my English Literature degree (which I am hopeful I will soon receive).

Why?

I am not a young person per say. When you hit 40, you find yourself on a trajectory, albeit ever so slight, in the downward direction so far as both mental acumen and physical health is concerned. Youth no longer compensates blindly for risks and poor choices. At 40, you find yourself having to pace yourself.

Personally, I found that before my active pursuit of further education, my mind had become somewhat stale. I relied too heavily on my little 'to do lists'- not that they are a bad thing, but I was writing the most trivial things in it too. It's like I had given up on my power of recollection altogether. Intense structured studying actually boosted my memory skills, and analytical prowess. Besides, studying great literary works from the likes of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Dickens, Emily Bronte, Milton and Shakespeare, to name but a few, really gave me a keener understanding of human dynamics. It was nothing short of fascinating.

Being a teacher, experiencing the drudgery that goes into all-nighters and the panic and stress that is to be endured during a long exam gave me perspective on the plight of my students. Though eliminating exams from their lives is not something I could do, I could at least 'get' what they were feeling,  gain an insight that I had long since forgotten. This puts me in a position to actually empathize with them. Kids can actually pick up cues if the teacher is sincere, helps build trusts which in turn helps the teacher transfer lessons with more impact.

This leads me to the conclusion that one can never be too old to go for some type of further education. It helps in expanding the brain, giving it an edge over the aging process. It also feels good, accomplishing something of that magnitude a little later in life contributes to a sense of accomplishment and success; it is a great morale booster.

To all the kids out there, never give up on studying. To all adults out there, go and get another degree, acquire a new skill set, learn a new art form. But do something!!

So yes, maybe I will take up the pursuit of another Master's Degree in a couple of years, when my brain begins to decline, when I begin to lose perspective... or maybe I won't wait that long....maybe, probably.