"We only have 10 good years left!"

I've recently made the emotionally charged decision not to return to graduate school and the pursuit of my little MBA. It was a difficult one to leave behind. In the end, I figured that I tried it, I did really well, I grew, but I stopped liking it. And it wasn't healthy. So why keep doing it?

Enough of that business.

I was talking to a friend recently about this decision. She just got her B.S. degree. She's also in her 40's.  I asked her if she was going to continue, and go to grad school. She said she would go only if her employer required it and even then, maybe not. Because, she said, "We only have about 10 good years left."

10 years?

"Yes, because once you hit your 50s, everything goes to shit. Your body starts falling apart. Why should we spend all this time sitting, studying to get a degree during the last best years of our lives?"

She had a point. I had tended to think of myself as having a long life line with plenty of time to do more stuff. That's just not true.

A few years ago, I took what I said would be the last ride roller coaster ride of my life, and I went out on a doozy - the Cyclone on Coney Island, a roller coaster notorious for rattling your spine and kinking up your neck. I don't miss roller coasters.

Am I going for the last ride on other things? Like graduate school? After this ride, maybe. I had always imagined having an advanced degree but just like with other activities I put it off.  Then I realized I hated preparing Powerpoint presentations. I tried other things during the past few years, didn't like them, and walked away. Like, I won't be an accomplished Flamenco dancer. And that's okay. I don't miss Flamenco dancing.

So what will I pursue in the next 10 years? And what will you?

Comments

[joanne]

Do you think maybe it was the MBA that was the issue and not the graduate degree? Of what I know of you, you don't strike me as an MBA type... MPA (public administration) maybe, art something, maybe. Were you pursuing it for work advancement purposes or just for your own?

[lg]

I had a sorta similar realization this week when writing a letter for my major client (you know who he is) and I said to my husband, "This is probably going to be the coolest, biggest thing I ever do." And I'm *only* 39!

(Then husband pointed, "He could be elected President..." and that just made me tired.)

[blaugra]

Joanne, I pursued it for both my own purposes with an eye on the future. I really liked one of my classes but all of them were so freakin' hard and required so much study time. Like I was the slow kid in the class even though I ended up with A's. I don't have an MPA program in my area unfortunately, that would have been my 1st choice I think. There are certificate programs I can pursue instead of full blown masters, I might do that at some point. I need in-person classes, I'm not good with just online. You're not the first person to question why I would go into an MBA program instead of something more creative...I should pay attention to those reactions, right?

lg, this is totally not the biggest thing you will ever do. It's BIG but not your pinnacle!