We Don't Need No Education...

"Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind." ~Plato

So today I ventured back to the hallowed halls of academia, those ivied brick halls of my youth where first I veered off educational course - not once, not twice, but... ah, hell, it really doesn't matter how many times I've attempted completion. What matters is that yet again I try. Yet again I return despite fears that my age will be double that of my classmates.

My fears were for naught: many of the "Adult Scholars" (as we are appropriately termed) are hoary-headed. This makes me feel considerably younger. Education knows no age boundaries. There are no statutes of limitations on degree conferral. And even though one of my professors is a PhD in my chosen field and our birthdates cannot possibly be more than a half-decade apart, I still feel zero inadequacy.

As I told Jeff when we left the movie theater after seeing Juno yesterday, "I follow my bliss; my bliss loves school." It's that simple. I miss being a student. I miss the opportunities to connect with other lovers of knowledge, to drink deep from the chalice of wisdom... ah, you get the idea. I've gotta stop with the metaphors and analogies. Three hours of Middle English literature and I find the urge to wax poetic nigh on impossible to suppress.

I should be reading "Beowulf" and a sizeable chunk of "The Odyssey" now, but damn if my A.D.D. isn't cranked up to hyper warp factor 10. Instead of taking notes, I have taken out my trash, changed the air filter, folded and put away a bit of laundry (something I rarely do on a regular basis) and then I caught up on the evening's news coverage of tomorrow's New Hampshire primary. None of this is in any way remotely related to Beowulf. Damn, I think I might need Adderol.

So, to recap: I'm back in school. I'm on the long-term career path which may or may not lead to my belated pursuit of a PhD in Literature/Creative Writing. I am pleased at my eleventh-hour decision to register and attend. I hope my optimistic enthusiasm lingers. Time will tell...

Post Script - How's this for ironic? Walking to class, my iPod shuffled to Modest Mouse's "Education" - what were the odds? Seriously. :)