Never too old to learn
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? My ambitions changed as I got older and experience so many different influences. I was probably about 7 or 8 when I wanted to be a majorette, you know, the girl in the marching band twirling a baton. My mom even sent me to baton lessons, encouraging me to dream.
Dad once said I should be a lawyer because I like to argue, but it was just a combination of curiosity and a rebellious nature that made me question everything. I never wanted to be an astronaut, but I did think about acting or teaching, both of which would have suited me well. There was one night while I was eating dinner with my family, that I announced my intent to become a social worker with a specialty in adolescent kids, but my dad snapped, “There ain’t no goddamn money in that.” I can still feel my heart sinking as his words deflated my spirit. My real passion, however, was music and that’s why I applied to the US Air Force when I was 17, hoping to become a member of the USAF band.
What we want vs what we get
Of course, what we want and what we get are often very different things. I quit high school and decided to join the US Air Force, but the recruiter told me to lose 20 lbs which I never did. Then I went and did something stupid and lied to my parents who then kicked me out of the house. I went to live with a friend who took me down a long and dangerous road. Looking back though, I was just another troubled teen from a troubled family who got into trouble, and before long, I was married and raising a family. I never made it into the Air Force and never went to college.
After leaving my job of nearly 40 years, I was given 6 months unemployment compensation and a free 9-month set of courses at our local community college. I was 60 years old and grateful for this long-awaited chance at higher education and decided that graphic design would be something I’d enjoy. If I was any good at design, I fancied I could work freelance in my old age to help subsidise my income. I sucked at web coding, did well with desktop publishing, and excelled in journalism which was an optional free course. And I made the Dean’s List; a prestigious listing of the top 10% of students! Some of my family suggested I should skip the graduation ceremony because “it’s mostly kids, won’t you be embarrassed? Hell no I’m not going to be embarrassed! I earned that right and I’m taking it. And though college was challenging, it was just what I needed to get myself out of a deep depression. I found structure and purpose again.
Sometimes I wonder what could have been, how my life would be different if my childhood ambitions had come true. Would I be a public defender or a prosecutor? What’s the “age out” for majorettes these days? I would have been a great teacher, and I never lost my musical ability. Without an instrument to play, my music is a Friday night with a couple of gin and tonics in The Cosy. I put on my Bose headphones and pound on my desk with the drums or play the air bass guitar. I can belt out the blues just as well Koko Taylor!
As I roam the internet looking for interesting conversation, I hear women my age talk about feeling invisible and not having a purpose or direction in their lives. I’ve been there and it sucks. But one of the things that helped me was going to college. The Crone NetworkÒ wants to provide you the opportunity to go to college for free, online and on your own terms. You don’t need to apply for a degree, but hopefully by offering these links to free education, you’ll be inspired by my story and want something new for yourself. Most of these courses are free so you can browse for subjects that interest you and learn as much as you want.
The list below contains links that take you directly to free online college courses. There are plenty of subjects to choose from, and whether you’re looking to learn and earn, or you’re just curious about a particular topic, knowledge is an invaluable life tool and something that can never be taken from you. Most of these are completely free but check each course for all the details.
If you decide to jump into an online college, please let us know what you’re going to study so we can support and learn from you. We’re all in this together.
The Crone Network hopes you find this information useful.
Free college courses
Stanford University https://online.stanford.edu/free-courses
Harvard University https://pll.harvard.edu/catalog/free?price%5B%5D=free&page=2
MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) https://pll.harvard.edu/catalog/free?price%5B%5D=free&page=2
University of Glasgow https://www.gla.ac.uk/study/free-online-courses/
Coursera https://www.coursera.org/courses?query=freewww.thecronenetwork.org
THE CRONE NETWORK Email: [email protected]