Back to School at 40

So, today I started back to school as a 2nd-year DMA student at the University of Washington. For those not familiar with that term, that’s Doctorate in Musical Arts. As you might guess from the title of my website, I’m studying Choral Conducting.

I also celebrated my 40th Birthday a couple of weeks ago (September 7, by the way, in case you want to get me a gift next year). Turning 40 gave me a cause for some reflection about my life: things I’ve done, things I may have (or not) accomplished, etc. I especially started thinking about this journey I’m on right now going through graduate school.

So, here are some of my reflections – some things that are hard, and some things that are awesome!

• If I had to do it over, I might not wait as long to go back to school. It was 11 years between my Masters degree and my coming back to school. I spent that time as a high school choir director. It’s really hard to come back to being a student after being away so long.
• On the other side of that coin, I’m glad I waited to come back. I think it took me that long to get to the point mentally where I was ready for grad school.
• Grad school is tough when you have a long commute. I live in Lacey and have to travel to Seattle for school. I drive, take a train, get on the lightrail, and walk. It’s about 2 ½ hours door-to-door. It’s not bad, just long. But because I spend so much of my day commuting, I miss out on things on campus and I miss out on things at home.
• Speaking of home, I have 7 kids. I didn’t have 7 kids when I did my B.A. or my M.M. (though I did have 3 by the time I was done). It’s difficult to stay financially solvent when you have so many mouths to feed. For the first time, I’ve had to take out student loans. It’s helping us stay afloat…barely (anyone have an extra $10K that they want to donate to a worthy cause? 😊)
• The degree program at UW is fabulous!! One of the reasons that I wanted to come back to school in the first place was because I felt that something was lacking in my conducting. I’m filling that gap here at UW. Perhaps I’ll write a posting about some of the things I’m learning…another time.
• I am at a weird age to be here as a student. I’m old enough to be the father of some of the undergrads that I’m friends with. It took me a while to figure out my roles in different settings: student, teacher, peer, colleague.

All-in-all, I do not regret my decision to come back to school. There are days when the commute just feels longer than others, or I’m missing my child’s concert in Lacey because I have a concert in Seattle. But the end result will be worth it!

Oh, and Go Dawgs!