I just bought the Draping for Apparel Design textbook that I will be using in my Draping class this winter. As I was clicking the “buy” button, I was reflecting on how the one “little” decision to go back to school to study fashion has completely changed my life:
- For the longest time, I’ve considered myself an advanced intermediate seamstress. It has been frustrating being stuck there but I couldn’t seem to move beyond that level. Starting over at the beginning sewing lessons has enabled me to fill in knowledge gaps that I didn’t even know existed! Because of the coursework, I will be able to become a master custom clothier.
- I had forgotten how fun it is to be a student learning new things. Yes, sometimes it gets weird straddling both sides of the podium but all of that schooling I had and all of those years being a professor and, of course, my expertise in how people learn, has enabled me to learn the material at a depth my young classmates aren’t able to achieve. They often turn to me for guidance and help, which leads to…
- In helping my classmates, I get to practice my own teaching and sharing of something I am so passionate about. That is not to say that my professors aren’t good in their own right! But, everyone has their own teaching style and since my goal is to teach what I learn to home sewers instead of people going into the fashion industry, there are some differences in how I would go about teaching the material.
- I feel inspired and feel like my life has been given back to me. So many listeners of my podcast have written to me and told me that they can hear the joy in my voice again. And they are right! As long-time readers and listeners know, I was feeling pretty beaten up. My confidence had been destroyed by a sexual assault in the early part of this decade and then to be laid off, twice, and not have any prospects for full-time employment at other universities and struggling to earn a living as a life coach in an economy spiraling down had pretty much left me feeling demoralized and “non-essential” (yes, that is the term used by both universities when I was laid off). Taking these classes has shown me that I still have passion and that others also value that passion. (By the way, I want to thank those of you who stuck by me during those times when I felt so helpless and hopeless).
- Finally, every day I am discovering ways to combine my educational psychology expertise with my passion for sewing. Most notably, of course, is the Tailored Curriculum program. But as I sit in class, I get excited about what I’m learning and am eager to share with you all what I’ve learned. Much of it can be shared in the blog and podcast but I’m also starting to percolate ideas for workshops and retreats and can’t wait until we can start gathering together sharing in our common passion for sewing.
As I mentioned in my Modern Retro Woman blog today, a year ago I was a mess. But, thanks to that one “little” decision to go back to school, I am eager to greet the future as we welcome in 2010.
