Introducing “A Midlifer’s Guide to College,” a new column by Sarah Burchard. (Photo by Sarah Burchard)

By Sarah Burchard | Staff Writer

Courageous stories and practical advice from a 43-year-old college student.

It’s Saturday morning and I’m staring at my calendar, laughing at the predicament I’m in. If there were just eight days in a week, I think. If my brain could only fire at night like it does in the morning, I wish. I’m exhausted just looking at my schedule, but I flip the lid to my laptop anyway and open my sociology textbook. I brought this on myself. 

Returning to school as a “midlifer” is interesting. Besides the fact I’m old enough to be most of my classmates’ mother, I’m learning how to juggle college courses with a full-time work load and a paycheck-to-paycheck bank account. Although it’s difficult, I’m determined to earn my degree.

When I moved to Honolulu in 2017, I didn’t just change zip codes, I changed my career too, shedding my title of chef to become a writer. I hired a writing coach, began taking workshops and purchased books on the craft of writing. But the more I learned the more I realized my lack of a college education would always be a hindrance. 

Regardless of my education level, local magazines began publishing my work and for the next six years, I produced as many stories as possible. Freelance writing was great, but I needed a job (payment is both sparse and sporadic). Tired of waiting tables to make ends meet, I perused online job postings in journalism, publishing and marketing, but every time I found something interesting I ran up against two letters prohibiting me from applying: BA. I realized then, almost all of the writers I admired had degrees, some multiple. I had yet to even learn proper syntax. 

I began to see that my ignorance had given me the courage to give freelance writing a shot, but my lack of foundation would only get me so far. I lacked the skills to think critically and develop interesting story angles. For a while, I thought I might have a learning disorder, because I had difficulty understanding abstract ideas and retaining information I read. This was untrue, I didn’t have a disorder I had just never mastered these skills – an embarrassing concept to discover in my 40s.

For over a year, I ran the idea of going back to school past friends. It would take me eight years if I went part-time. By the time I earned my BA I’d be 51 years old, I’d accrue years of debt and there’d be no guarantee on the other side of finding a job I loved that paid well.  

“You don’t need it,” they’d say. “You’re already in the industry.” 

But each time I’d scroll those job postings or have another pitch ignored, I kept thinking about what I’d learn in college. It got to the point where it wasn’t even the “dream job” I cared about anymore, it was simply earning the degree for myself. I had finally reached a point in my life where I was ready to commit myself to school, plus, if not now, when?

It helped to discover all of the successful writers who got their big break later in life. Frank McCourt published his Pulitzer Prize winning memoir “Angela’s Ashes” when he was 66. Renowned editor, Judith Jones – who got famous chefs such as Julia Child their start – published her first cookbook when she was 85. I still had time.

The following year, at age 43, I returned to school for the first time in 25 years and enrolled at KCC. My apprehension concerning cost, time and ability were minor compared with my desire to learn everything I didn’t learn in culinary school. I wanted to learn how to learn, how to think critically and how an academic path could lead to broader career options. 

My Saturday mornings with my calendar and coffee are essential. It takes time and finesse to determine how to jam 10 hours of school, 40 hours of work and 10 hours of house chores, laundry, grocery shopping, yoga and the occasional appointment into a single week. Now that I’m back in school, I appreciate the reward of learning at a college level and enjoy the support that teachers and administration at KCC offer its students (we have so many benefits!). I earned all A’s last semester, while preserving my relationship with my boyfriend and my jobs (I have multiple) despite the demanding schedule. Besides the empty refrigerator and cupboards in my kitchen, I’d say I’m off to a good start.

Sarah Burchard is a staff writer and advice columnist for Kapi’o News. She is a Honolulu-based food and travel writer and creator of The Healthy Locavore. 

Post comments, questions or concerns about navigating life as a nontraditional student below.