SECOND ACTS: Connecting The Dots

It's just never too late. A cliche you say? Perhaps, but try living it, and it just might be true! Yours truly, Ms. SL, is hardly one to share her age, but suffice it to say AARP--the Magazine-- has been showing up in the mailbox for a good while.

By the good fortune of networking, friends in the right places and the stars all aligning, SL is teaching a serious college course at a serious college, sans all the the letters other than BS (both the academic one, and the figuratively speaking one)! As if that weren't enough academia for this test-phobic fashionista, SL has enrolled herself in a five-month university course in digital media. Strangely, she's studying for the very certificate she had hoped precious and adorable youngest son would get in college! And, to add fuel to the flame of higher education, this crazy lady-- known more for stilettos than studying --is headed toward her Masters.

Where's that condo on the beach? That river-cruise down the Danube. The trek across the Great Wall of China. Sit back, relax, enjoy the ride as all those retirement ads beckon? Not this gal! It's time for a new career, a new calling and for opening up that Second Act with my favorite tribe of the future...the Millenials...those 20-somethings everyone loves to hate, berate, bemoan, and criticize for being too entitled, too "me" focused, too this, or too that. Give it a rest, codgers. They're the future. These BYTs (Bright Young Things) are inspiring, inquisitive, plugged in, wired to the gills, and geek-smart.

Two days a week, 26 bright eyes face me in anticipation of what adventure, wisdom, or advice I have to share from 30-plus years in a business they hope to eventually crack. They come in their shorts, flip flops, their cheery little dresses, their sorority t-shirts, and ragged-knee designer jeans to learn from someone who's been there, done that, and is only too happy to share the war stories, battle scars, and lessons learned.
Practical? You bet. Demanding? Without a doubt.

Sure there is theory and all the basics, but when it comes to the real-world, it's all about skill sets, problem solving and putting brains to the bottom line. In short, it's all about connecting the dots--and unfortunately for many students, it's often difficult for academia to connect the dots. Thankfully, there are colleges and universities like the one SL has found, who foster the dot-connecting process, fearless, courageously, and creatively. Because in the end, what students all want from that precious piece of parchment--.is to be productive, to have work that fulfills them and, by the way,  pays the rent. That's the end game. That's the class. That's SL's Second Act. Connecting the dots.

Wishing you all a Spex-tacular Second Act