My daughter Brooklyn is 12. She has a dream to open a book store when she's older... a charming little place kind of like "Shop Around the Corner" from the movie "You've Got Mail", but completed with a coffee shop. She already has a name (BrookWorm) and has started planning how she wants it to look and what it will be like. She says she isn't going to college. When asked how she'll learn to run a business, her quick reply was, "I'll just read Business for Dummies." I think she's brilliant.
I wouldn't trade my college experience for anything. Those were some of the best years of my life and sometimes I still wish I could go back to the days of living in the dorms with all of my girlfriends. Our doors almost always open, there was always someone to laugh with, cry with, pray with, pull pranks with, or sing at the top of your lungs with. There were road trips, missions trips, playing in the rain, going to the beach, and lots of bonding. I learned a lot too, and had some great classes and teachers.
Having said all of that though, I don't know that I'd recommend it for everyone, and if our kids don't want to go to college, it's ok by me. I started my freshman year a few weeks before I turned 18. At that age, I had no idea what I really wanted to do with my life. I took classes that interested me, and I got a great education, but I racked up quite a bit of debt for a degree I only used for a few years after graduation. I got married months after I graduated and a few years later when I was pregnant with our first baby, I stopped working so I could be a stay-at-home mom.
Now I'm on a new path. (Working at Starbucks and focusing on Jenuine Ruby.) At this point in my journey, I am in a season of soaking. I'm researching and reading and learning all that I can.
These days you can learn so much on the internet. There are tutorials and you-tube videos, and some pretty amazing online classes. I recently finished this amazing Indie Business class (taught by three amazing, lovely, full-of-wisdom business ladies: Leigh-Ann of Freckled Nest, Jill of Lune, and Elsie of Red Velvet Art). I learned so much practical information that I have been able to use already and I feel so full of hope and inspiration.
Not that it wasn't all that I needed, but because I just can't get enough and thought it would be great to get another perspective from someone whose journey has taken her a bit of a different route, I decided to sign up for Kelly Rae Robert's online class Flying Lessons. When I read the class description, something inside leapt a little and I decided to go for it. I've followed Kelly's story on her blog and it's been so exciting/ inspiring to see her artistic career take off. I have interest in having some of my work licensed down the road too, and I want to learn as much as I can about that path, so I'm going to take Kelly's e-course beginning at the end of May. I'm really excited. I look forward to learning a lot, making new connections and blog friends, and getting that extra nudge to begin to soar in my business.
If you're interested in joining me, there's still time to sign up! Let me know if you're in the class too! xo
