Going back to school at 40 – the path that led me here

Someone who recently read my last couple of blog posts but didn’t fully read my website bio asked, “So, what’s your midlife reinvention?” I know that most people don’t always read every word of a website they’re browsing, so I wanted to dedicate this blog post to what exactly I’m reinventing at the age of 40.

I am going back to school to earn a Master’s degree in School Psychology. It’s a 24-month program through National University, and I am taking one month-long class at a time. I am currently in class number three.

The reason for pursuing this new career is very personal to me, and while I may or may not share those reasons (haven’t decided yet), this is the path I am currently on.

Now let me go back in time 23 years, to when I was 17 years old. I had just graduated from high school and I went on a family trip the summer right after to visit my grandparents in Oregon. They live in a small town on a beautiful river, and one afternoon, we launched our boats and kayaks from their backyard and went for a ride.

My dad and I rode together in a small, metal fishing boat, and as we paddled, I stared at the houses surrounding us. They were lined along the river, some with occupants, others falling apart. As we made our way down the river, we must have been quite a sight (there were about 10 of us making our way slowly down the river in boats and kayaks, and clearly, we weren’t local).

People were coming out onto their porches to see this floating parade of strangers, and it made me wonder how those people, who lived such rural lives, ended up there. What were their lives like before? They were mostly older and retired, and I wondered if they lived somewhere busier before they settled in a place where an exciting afternoon involved calling one another to talk about the out-of-towners on their river.

They all waved and seemed very friendly. I wondered about their life experience. I remember saying to my dad, “I would just love to go join some of these people on their porches and ask them all about their lives,” and my dad’s reply: “You should be a journalist.”

“A what?”

I was 17 and, to date, I had paid more attention to my social life than to the news or our local newspaper. I had been on my high school yearbook staff, but I had never thought about interviewing people and writing their stories as an actual career possibility. Before that conversation with my dad, I had my heart set on becoming a psychologist – and then everything changed.

I switched to journalism, earned my bachelor’s degree in Communications at the age of 21, and became a reporter for my local daily newspaper. I loved every minute of it. That 5-year career turned into a freelance writing career after I got married and decided to pursue my dream of writing a book. My book, “Once Upon A Wish: True Inspirational Stories of Make-A-Wish Children,” came out in 2012, and I have been writing for small businesses and different websites ever since.

I will never stop writing, but something was pulling at me to do something different. To try something new. To challenge myself in a new way that would take me back to an interest I had more than 20 years ago.  

I had never even heard of a school psychologist (only a clinical psychologist) until I met one that works at my kid’s school. She told me all about her job, and I wish I could say it gave me the clarity I needed. I had been juggling the options of becoming an Occupational Therapist (OT) or an Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) for more than a year. I had decided on the path of OTA, which required that I take Anatomy and Physiology as pre-reqs. Those classes almost killed me (that experience is worth an entire blog post, separate from this one).

The program at National University did not require any pre-reqs (they just took my bachelor’s degree and let me go from there); so choosing that path meant letting go of the credit I had just earned in Anatomy and Physiology. I went back and forth for a long time once I learned about the school psychologist career, and I finally made my decision.

I was going to become a school psychologist. So, I did the research, signed up for classes, and plunged right in. I have never been a person to dwell on things for too long. I usually know what I want. And while I did dwell for a long time with making this tough, life-changing decision (there were many pluses and minuses for all of the degrees I was considering, so there was a lot to consider), I made my decision and went for it. Sometimes, that’s what you have to do in life. Like my mom’s favorite singer, Cher, says, “You can always say, ‘Shouldn’t have done that!’”

But I don’t think I will. I think I made the right decision for myself and for my family. It’s not easy, that’s for sure, but it’s something I’m proud of. All I want to do with this blog is touch people’s lives – even just one person – if they are considering something they’re scared of or they think they’re too old for (that’s how I felt when I was first considering going back to school!).

So, if you’ve been sitting on a decision or dreaming of doing something you just haven’t had the courage to do, now is the time. Take it from me, it’s never too late.

XO,

Rachelle