Any "late bloomers" here? People who are changing their lives midstream?

[Darth_Kitten]

:shrug:

Just curious. Am I the only one starting to do NOW what she couldn't/wouldn't/was not able to do for whatever reason in her first 3 decades? :evilgrin:

[mcctatas]

1. I don't know about late-bloomer...

but maybe I could be called a re-bloomer, I am ditching the old marriage, hopefully the old job and possibly even the old state within the next year.

[PaddyBlueEyes]

24. I have the perfect state for you..

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. What change are you making?

For myself, am wondering if I should remain in teaching.
Some days seems like it would be pure bliss to do a 9-5 job and come home without having to do any more work until the next day.

[Darth_Kitten]

4. Let's see.....

1) starting an acting class, maybe get some work eventually.
2) deciding I want to write (my goal is a novel within the next few years) Do I go back to school or take some writing classes, etc? :)
3) signed up with a professional matchmaker, will it lead to a decent relationship?
4) thinking of not wanting to end my days in the job/city/country I currently live in now. Wanting a real change, but how do I pull it off?

[JenaLaw]

3. you are not alone...

I just hit my 40th birthday.

trying to find a new job, unload a house that carries 15+ years of emotional baggage, and re-locate to a new city to live with a fantastic friend...

a lot to attempt, but feel like it is time to do it. Just need the job to come through and then the other issues will have to resolve.

So good luck with your changes...do it!!!!!!!!!! and message me if you need support.

[Darth_Kitten]

5. Looks like we are both in the same boat. :)

40's is a time of growth and change.....not for settling. I settled in my so-called "younger" years.

I want it all, now. In some ways I have a younger mindset now that I ever have had. Funny. :)

[JenaLaw]

42. exactly...

the first 20 years of my life was spent taking care of my parent / grandparent's needs. The next 20 were pretty much devoted to another family member who needed me. Now it is my time...and I plan on living my life, finally, for me.

I feel younger now too.

[skygazer]

6. I'm 48 and in college

I dropped out of high school and went to work, got married, had kids but always wanted to get an education.

So now I'm set to graduate my 2 year school this spring, plan in transferring to a 4 year and after that, I'm going to law school, one way or another.

That enough of a life change for you? :)


It is never too late to make a difference in the world, or to use the gifts you've been given for some higher purpose. I really believe that. :hug:

edited to add -

when I was 38, I picked up stakes and with $400 in my pocket drove from Vermont to California to start a new life. I knew one person who I hadn't even met in person. It was the best move I ever made.

[Darth_Kitten]

7. I had a counsellor of all people tell me something that SO.......

pissed me off.

Told her of my ambitions to go back to university, to take some courses (background: I want to write historical fiction, and am thinking of taking some history classes, why not learn about a certain era so it can be of help with creating a story?) Anyhooooo, she said I may not want that because there would be all younger people.

I'm thinking, I wouldn't be doing this for THEM, I would be doing this for ME. And people of ALL ages go back to school. :eyes:

Sheesh. :eyes:

[leftyclimber]

14. That's just stupid as hell.

When I was in undergrad the students we revered the most were in their freakin' SIXTIES and SEVENTIES, for Pete's sake. Women who'd never had the chance to go to college when they were younger and finally bit the bullet. They were the best students and had the most to offer us, the "traditional" students in terms of understanding life. We LOVED them.

Now that I'm teaching college I don't really give a damn what age my students are. I care that they want to be there and are trying their hardest.

Age is not relevant in university. Desire to be there is.

[Darth_Kitten]

17. You SAID it.

:D

[harmonicon]

15. but what is college for?

From my experience, but as a student and now looking at people 12 years younger than me who are undergrads at my school, going to a university is more of a holistic growing experience for young people than it is about picking up certain bits of knowledge or skill. Whatever classes I took that were worth anything were more about teaching me critical thinking, discipline, and careful analysis than the content of the material. If you have those things, I think you can do fine on your own.

[emilyg]

44. That's so dumb. I went back to school

in my 40's. Loved it and the young people.

[Darth_Kitten]

8. I forgot to mention you are only too cool.

I love stories like yours, you are so brave to what you've always wanted to.

I wish you all the best, sincerely. :)

[skygazer]

11. Hey, thanks

And that counselor was a moran I love being in school with younger people and they've been great. I've learned a lot from them and they've learned a lot from me and it's been such a positive experience.

I wish you well, too. Follow your dreams.

[Darth_Kitten]

13. You are welcome.....

There are so many kick ass people on this board, that's partly why I like posting here.
Wow, what kind of law do you want to practice? (is that the right kind of question to ask?) :)

[harmonicon]

9. depends what you mean

I'm certainly in some sort of quasi-panic because I have no idea what I'll be doing in a few years or even what country I'll be living in. No conscious change has been made - I'm just really really bad at planning ahead. I thought I had the where to live and who to live with part sorted out, but once that was gone I realized how little else I'd planned for.

[Darth_Kitten]

12. I can understand that.....

I was really bad at planning ahead, but then it hit me I just couldn't drift along and get the things I really want out of life.

Then again, you can plan and plan and that's when life throws you a curve ball. Nothing's guaranteed in life. :)

[harmonicon]

25. yep

My last semester of grad-school (getting my MFA, that is) in 2005 completely threw me.... I realized that I just hadn't made any real plans for the future. At that time I made some serious changes in my life and got my shit into gear, at least in some respects.... however, that led me to a life of poverty and running all over the planet after some woman that treated me like shit for years. I really like where I am now and would like to make a life here, but once I'm done with my PhD, I'll have to leave the country unless I have a full time job lined up, and I'm not sure that I want that right now. It sucks. Immigration laws blow donkeys. They really do.

[leftyclimber]

10. 37 and getting a Ph.D.

in Parks and Rec (aka sociology with trees).

Prior to that I worked in the software industry, acted professionally, and ran a theatre company. I miss doing theatre; I don't miss software at ALL.

I didn't know this gig existed when I was younger. When I found out it did, I was like, "where have you been all my life?"

I get to spend my entire next summer camping and climbing (and talking to climbers about climbing) in the name of research. What a great deal!

[Darth_Kitten]

16. Good for you!

I wish you all the best. Wow, to find out what you LOVE to do. :)

[leftyclimber]

23. That's part of going to university, really.

And I think that at our age it's a lot easier to figure out what you love than when you're 19 and wanting to taste everything in the world because it's out there for the tasting. Sure, some people know when they're that young but for the most part I think "traditional" college age is too young to be making total life-committing decisions. The tasting is important, too.

Where are you in Canada? If you're in ON and thinking about doing literature at school I can't recommend Laurier strongly enough, although Kitchener-Waterloo is a PIT. Leslie O'Dell, who is the dramaturg (research person) for the Stratford Festival is on the faculty there. She's a great lit professor, an amazing director, and a superb acting teacher. Waterloo's theatre program is not too shabby, either, and it's easy to swap back and forth between campuses. K-W also has an excellent community theatre group. (Lived there for a while and worked with Leslie quite a bit. She's the bomb.)

If you're seriously thinking about acting and can get to Ontario I'd recommend staying there. I worked very steadily in Toronto (like live off the paycheques working steadily), whereas in the US they're way too obsessed with weight and noses and boobs and crap like that. Canadian theatre and television are way more open as far as "types." Since you're a citizen of the Commonwealth, I'm assuming, the UK is pretty decent about those things as well.

You're still young. Go for it! :hug:

[Darth_Kitten]

26. Thanks.......

My dream would be to act in the West End of London. Hell, I'd love to live there. (I would miss my family and friends like crazy, though)

We'll see how far the acting takes me. Not quitting my day job just yet, but.....who knows. :)

Thanks for the information. :hi:

[begin_within]

18. Yes

I've had several changes of career. Sofware programmer - Newspaper editorial assistant - Web site owner - in the future adding retail store owner and even filmmaker. It's not over until it's over.

[graywarrior]

19. Right here!

Changes happening all over the fucking place for me. I have ARRIVED baby!

[Darth_Kitten]

20. Release that poor duck!!!!!

:evilgrin:

[graywarrior]

22. Someone released your image....lol!

And BTW,

NO !

:P

[zingaro]

21. OH! Me! Me! And for me it was 4 decades but

now? Yeahhhhhhhhhh it's step aside time. It's nice to be still approaching Peak at 40, especially when everyone I knew and wished I was when I was in my 20s is all over with and shriveled now :)

So what are you doing? :)

[gblady]

27. I went back to grad school.....

at age 56, graduated in December '08 at age 60.
Masters in Counseling Psychology.
Long, long time goal...

Now, finding the job market a bit more challenging than I thought...
but have a temp job that pays well...and I know something great will unfold.

Grad school was a blast. I loved it...if I could figure how to finance it,
I would get my PhD. I love the studying, researching, writing.
Also love sitting with folks and helping them shift.

Not sure what was up with that counselor you saw...
total BS. I thoroughly enjoyed the youngsters in my class,
but there were others my age as well. It made for well rounded discussions.

[latebloomer]

28. uh- I guess I am!

Spent most of my twenties trying to figure out what to do with my work life (while working in restaurants, travelling, meditating, partying, falling in and out of love. .)

Took me till my late 30s to finally accept a good man into my life. Took a lot of therapy to break the "bad boy" pattern. Married at 38, first child at 39, second at 42.

I'm glad I gave myself the time to evolve, to figure out what I really needed, to listen to myself.

[Darth_Kitten]

30. Forgot to mention the same counsellor I saw.......

kind of laughed and assumed I didn't want a guy and a kid at my age. :eyes:

That hurt. Nobody else thinks I'm nuts. :eyes:

[latebloomer]

41. I hope you fired her quick

and I hope you told her why!

Everybody needs love- I don't care what your age is. And plenty of women in their 40s have babies.

So she pooh-poohed your personal and educational dreams. What did she want you to do, just give up on everything, curl up in a corner and die?

There are some really great people in the mental health profession, but some extremely incompetent ones as well. And someone like her really abuses her power.

[deucemagnet]

29. I'm definitely a late bloomer.

After 4-1/2 years in the Air Force, I re-started college at age 27 on my GI bill. I entered grad school at 31. After one failed project and several complications with another project, I finally defended my doctoral dissertation one week before my 40th birthday. Although I never seriously considered academics as a career, I'm currently teaching my 3rd semester as a college professor, and I love it.

[Darth_Kitten]

31. Good for you!!

Lots of people here are inspiring me. :)

Somehow it helps to know that others have or went through changes in their own lives. Makes one feel less alone. :)

[deucemagnet]

37. Thanks!

Prospects for tenure don't look good at my current job, so I might be embarking on a new adventure soon. Fortunately, the higher education portion of the stimulus package is making it a hell of a lot easier to find a job in my field. Thank you, President Obama!

[leftyclimber]

33. Congratulations, Dr. deucemagnet!

:yourock:

[deucemagnet]

38. Thank you so much!

Despite the ups and downs, I don't regret taking the path less traveled. :)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

32. I did it 16 years ago

After my academic career came to a dead end, I became a free-lance translator. It was scary, but I'm glad I did it. All my friends who are still in academia are depressed.

[Darth_Kitten]

35. I don't want to become one of the super-medicated depressed.....

individuals I see at work. Even medicated they mope around bewailing their lot in life. It's very sad and demoralizing.

I don't want to be them. It's depressing what people accept or think they have to accept.
:(

[buzzycrumbhunger]

34. Still struggling to get out of the chrysalis, but yeah.

I did the SAHM thing for too long, finally jettisoned the arsehole, trained for a career that subsequently hit the skids (first Indians taking the work, now shitty speech recognition), and am back in school to train for a different healthcare career I hope won't go teats up before I retire (cancer registry). Not necessarily what I'm dying to do, but it utilizes the knowledge I already have and I don't think they can outsource it. Best of all, it should provide an opportunity to figure out where I want to live and to work outside the house. With other people. And daylight. Hopefully, office politics won't make me long for this isolation again. Yuk. Once the job and move fall into place, can an actual relationship be far behind?

Now, if I could just get through this mind-numbingly BORING pharmacology and pathophysiology course. . . It's been a real speed bump. :P

[Xipe Totec]

36. I am constantly reinventing myself

At 53, working on a PhD in computer science.

Working on my third language (Russian). Trying for five major languages before I die.

Working on a Historical novel based on Hernan Cortes.

Doing Genealogical research, trying to trace my family back to XVI century Spain.

Oh, and in my spare time, I work for a paycheck as a software QA engineer.

I dearly hope I run out of life before I run out of projects.

When my maker calls me from labor, I want him to find me in the workshop.

[BarenakedLady]

39. I would say so.

In less than an hour I will turn 40. I'm getting divorced, getting ready to sell my "dream home", trying to build a new smaller home, and looking to get back into the workforce after raising my kids the past 11 years. I'm looking forward to finally being independent.

[ashling]

40. I am 56 and in graduate school

years ago I went to Law School instead of graduate school in history...I have always regretted it. I am working on my MA in history/government. My wife went to grad. school at the same time. She is a GTA teaching Amer. Gov. survey online (she taught in the classroom last semester. My progress has been slowed somewhat due to the eye surgeries I have had during the last year, but I hope I will be teaching in the fall.

[soleiri]

43. Yeah, I probably qualify as a late bloomer.

I was a theater major when I first went to college. Then I got married, had two beautiful boys and got divorced. During this time I took a few classes at the community college. After spending years in retail I finally got sick of it and went to College full time and got my BA in Liberal Studies. Now I’m getting my Master’s Special Education. But the thing is, without the experience of having my sons, I would have never wanted to be a teacher.

[old mark]

45. I didn't get to do what I always wanted to do - art- till I was in my 30's,

in fact I'm just starting to do it as much as I want to now, in my early 60's.
I was actively discouraged from doing "anything like that" when I was a kid, and later one thing after another kind of got in the way, but I believe if you are meant to do something you will eventually do it.

Enjoy it - it is YOUR life.

mark

ADDED: I worked with many people who are frustrated, angry and feel trapped and who have denied what ever mey be in themselves in order to fit into a societal pattern. They tend to be depressed as you note, and I urge you strongly to keep going with what you are doing - you are certainly not alone, and some of the most interesting and capable people you will ever meet are right there (here) with you. What is inside you is so strong that you are doing this brave thing to be able to let it out. You will become a much better and satisfied person for having done that.
All the best.

mark

[Darth_Kitten]

46. Thanks for all the responses....

I'm really inspired by what people are choosing to do with their lives. :)

I feel less alone. :) Change is scary but it is necessary. :)

[Dangerously Amused]

47. Oh honey, "late bloomer" doesn't even begin to cover it for me.

Come to think of it, I'm not so much a "late bloomer" as a "serial bloomer." :7

[buzzycrumbhunger]

53. "Serial bloomer"--love that!

One thing people don't realize is that as scary as it is to make a big change and start something new, it's also extremely rejuvenating. Not sure if it's the adrenaline that comes with fear, but it does feel good to chuck years of bad decisions and give yourself a do-over. :)

[Dangerously Amused]

55. Wise words.

Though I'm finding that it gets more intimidating to make the big changes as I get older, and I'm not sure why and I hate that it has become that way. Geez, I remember being a twentysomething and accepting a cool job offer halfway across the country without giving it a second thought; packed up my stuff, hit the road and never looked back. THEN gaining admission to a post-grad program and moving halfway across the country AGAIN eight months later. Nowadays in those situations I would mull things over a lot more, play out all the possibilities, fret a great deal and no doubt lose sleep over it. :(

I wish I had the confidence and free-spiritedness (naivety?) of my youth back again. I don't know what I'm so afraid of, things always worked out. Always. :/

[buzzycrumbhunger]

57. I think the biggest problem

. . . is that we get bogged down with "stuff" that makes it problematic to just pick up and go. Even after the kids move out, we've got a house to deal with, furniture, pets, etc. I have to admit that the biggest concern I have about finally figuring out where I belong is that I've got no one to do the physical moving for me (and I have a really bad bad and knees now). I understand now why my mom has been so gleeful about passing out her excess junk in recent years. I've been in this house for almost 20 years and am mortified at how much shit I've accumulated. . . Makes me think of that Steven Wright thing: You can't have everything. . . where would you put it?

Yup. When I recreate my life, it's going to be one with a whole lot less crap to tie me down. (Famous last words.) :)

[applegrove]

48. I was a doormat until I was 25. Then I woke up (certain things happened to make

me realize I had been selling myself short for more than a decade) and I went through a renaissance. My that was great. Realizing that I didn't have to give all my energy away to people who didn't deserve it because they weren't supportive of me. Realizing that I could assertively state my feelings. Realizing that I could move on.
Part of it was Prozac (I was one of those people for whom prozac changed their personality). But most of it was growing up finally.

[Sanity Claws]

49. I'm also changing my life mid-stream

I just couldn't do what I was doing anymore.
It's not easy but staying in a career that is slowly killing you is worse.

[Pacifist Patriot]

50. I entered the ministry in my late 30s. That's probably young for my denomination.

Who knows? I may reinvent myself in my 50s or 60s. I've always wanted to be an archaeologist too.

[KansDem]

51. Hell, yes! You described me to a tee!

56 and I'm changing careers (if the economy will let me). Major changes in my life...:thumbsup:

[Trigger Hippie]

52. Thanks for all the responses.

They inspire me to get going to grad school/start a new career change in the near future. I guess it really never is too late. :hi:

[Strong Atheist]

54. Haven't

bloomed yet.

Maybe I am like a Talipot palm:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talipot_palm

[Aristus]

56. Me. I finally settled on Medicine as a career at the age of 35.

I'm now 40, and will be a Physician Assistant by the time I turn 42.

That's a late bloomer...

[tigereye]

58. thinking about a second career....

[timtom]

59. Yeah.

I'm only 66,and I'm coming alive for the first time in...well...66 years.

[eyesroll]

60. Between 29 and 31, I:

Got divorced, moved from the suburbs to the city, quit my publishing job, and started law school.

I graduate in May. :bounce:

[Tikki]

61. I earned my BA at age 45......(started at age 39)...

I enjoyed the process and learned a lot about my major: Physical Anthropology.


Tikki

[BuelahWitch]

62. I didn't get my Associates until I was 44

I was too flaky for school in my 20s, I took care of my mother from 25-37, finally was able to go back to school in my 40s. I'm working on my Bachelor's now. Hopefully I'll finish it before I take the dirt nap.

[leeroysphitz]

63. Once my S.O. Finishes the nursing program next year I intend to become a man of leisure.

Life has sucked any and all other ambitions out of me.