You and Your Dissertation: A May-December Romance

At this week's workshop, the issue of age came up - how much more difficult writing a dissertation can be when your body is older, when you are taking care of children (even adult children), when you are running a household. Writing a dissertation at 40 or 50 (and up) isn't the same as writing it at 25 or 30.

It made me think of my mother, Sheila Hesler, shown at her college graduation above.

(I was an adjunct teaching at her college at the time of her graduation and was allowed to present her with her degree...but that's a whole other story)

When my mother decided to go back to school for her Associate's degree, some people said to her, "Why go back to school? You'll be 50 by the time you get your degree."

My mother replied, "I'm going to turn 50 anyway. I may as well have my degree when I do it."

This has always struck me as being an incredibly good answer.