The average age in my class is 24 years old. I'm the oldest - 30 years old. Really! I thought I would be the average age considering I'm obtaining a post-baccalaureate degree! I didn't realize how many students came straight from college. When I have conversations with my classmates, I feel like we are worlds apart.
When I see my classmates whine or worse, cry over a bad grade, I think, WOW, wait till they start working. Then they'll really have something to cry about. In my thoughts, I feel so much older and "wiser" with experience. I almost feel like its insane to cry over a grade, professor, or class. This is how I felt when I started classes.
Fast forward 6 months later, I feel so foolish for having thought this way. Age ain't nothing but a number. Though I'm somewhere between 6-9 years older than my classmates, they have impressed me with their experiences.
What they lack in years of life, they make up in applicable experience to physical therapy. From working with people with disabilities, running marathons, competing in national athletic programs, studying nutrition & exercise science in undergrad, volunteering in pediatric clinics, working as aides in outpatient clinics and trying out new sports, they have some serious experience! On top of that, I've heard some really passionate stories on why they want to be physical therapists.
So although I still think it's ridiculous to panic over bad grades, I'm not so quick to judge my peers. I certainly got knocked off of my pedestal. Humbling...
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