How to return to college and fit in

Learn how to fit in with the folks at college when you return as an older adult.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Be yourself! Don't try to be a teenager again.....Dress in a way that you normally would dress. Don't try to emulate the hoodies and flip flops of the kids sitting around you. Dress in a way that suits your age and who you are. You probably imagine they will make fun of you and laugh at you. They probably won't, but if you show up trying to be a hip teen-ager, they definitely will! So will your family and friends away from school.
2. Don't act like you are smarter, more experienced, more mature, wiser, etc than they are. It is kind of a contradiction to say to act your age, but act equal to them. What I mean is to act like you think they are your equals. Even if you are thinking inside....."What kind of crazy kid is this?" I guarantee you that you will need to get this "crazy kid" to explain something to you that is alien to you.
3. Don't force yourself into their conversations where you don't fit. They don't want to hear about your lumbago. They might be interested in hearing about your daughter or son or niece or nephew and their life ocassionally, to relate. They really don't want to hear at all about how it was when you were there age. They really don't want to hear about it as much as your own kids do, and they only listen because they have to. As amazed as you are by the correlation of the "Mod Fashion" the girls are wearing and what you wore in Junior High School, they don't care! They think they invented it! And remember.....if you remember wearing the trend the first time it came around, you are not a candidate to wear it this time!
4. Listen.....and Listen. Sometimes these kids really just want an adult that they feel comfortable with to listen to them. They have plenty of hip friends.....maybe you are just what they need just as you are!
5. Remember you will have adults in your classes, especially in community colleges and night classes. Don't gang up with the adults to make a young person feel young and foolish. Works both ways!

Tips & Warnings

• Be careful to avoid bad breath and body odor....you sit in close quarters.
• CARRY CANDY IN YOUR PURSE OR BOOKBAG! INSTANT POPULARITY!