A New Adventure

I'm embarking upon a new adventure: going back to school!  Massage Therapy school, to be exact.  It will take me between one-and-a-half to two years to earn the more than 500 credit hours necessary to get my certification from the school and take a licensing exam to become a Licensed Massage Therapist.  After being out of college for more than ten years, the idea of being back in the classroom is exciting and a little bit daunting: homework?! After all this time?!
Massage is a discipline that I've always enjoyed being the recipient of (there are a few people out there who do not like to be massaged, but I'm not one of them), but never crossed my consciousness as a personal career.  I have had some informal instruction in massage, most notably a sweet infant massage course that I took at our local hospital when Alton was a baby, but I definitely always thought of it as being firmly ensconced in the "hobby" sector of my life.  After all, my college degree is in Liberal Arts / Literature!  My work experience spans University Administration and the corporate world of Communications / Marketing. Surely there's no room for a body-centric subject like massage, even if I had been thinking about going back to school (which I hadn't).
But recently, a good friend of mine, Fabi Zawalski, began her first courses at a local massage school.  She also took a non-credit "basics" course to learn some of the rudiments of massage and get a taste of what being in a massage class would be like.  She offered to practice her learnings on me and a couple other friends (oh, darn), and her enthusiasm for this healing therapy was infectious.  I could hear myself agreeing with her in my head: "Yes, yes it would be nice to know that you are helping people to feel better...flexible job hours--who doesn't want those?...low-stress work environment is a must...wow, all the courses are offered at night, so I wouldn't need to spend money on daycare...."  I quizzed her a bit more on the program, and she encouraged me to attend a student preview night at the school, where more information would be dispensed from school staff, so I did.  And found myself agreeing even more: with the mind-body-spirit focus of the school (I loved the idea that adult education didn't have to make me feel like a big dollar sign in the eyes of the school), with the relaxed approach to program completion (no penalty if I didn't finish "on time"), and with the diverse and seemingly plentiful job opportunities that were available to graduates.  I liked their small classes, the campus that was not too far from my house, and the chance to enroll at approximately the same time as my friend Fabi, providing us each with a built-in supporter, study buddy, and carpooler.
At the info night, I was also invited to take the same Massage Basics course that Fabi had just completed, free of charge.  The four-week course was commencing the following evening, so I signed up and drove back to the school the next day.  I figured that this would give me some good insight into how I felt about massage as a profession; obviously, if I went into the classroom and felt shy or uncomfortable or dismayed by the thought of massaging people I didn't know, this was not the program for me!  But I felt myself really enjoying the course, for the scratch-the-surface knowledge I was acquiring about the body and healing, for the instructor's laid-back style, and for the very meditative qualities that I found massage to impart on the giver (and receiver). I couldn't help but feel a gratifying success when my massage partner claimed to have fallen asleep on the table while I was at work--twice!
After doing some more thinking, discussing with Andy, and budget planning, I have officially enrolled in this massage therapy program as a student.  My classes begin in April and include the homework of two practice massages per week....