Anthrozoology Drop-Out :(

So, quite recently I was an Anthrozoology graduate-student-to-be, proudly but anxiously enrolled at Canisius College. This only lasted for a week or so...because I dropped out before classes ever began.

I was also a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Continuing Scholar Graduate Award recipient for a few weeks as well...but I dropped that, too.

I do not feel good about my decisions at the moment, but a couple of months ago, on the heels of graduating with a bachelor of arts degree from North Central College in...what else?...Anthrozoology!...I became completely overwhelmed and exhausted, and sadly, just saying no seemed like a solid idea.

Now I am feeling some regret.

I balked at the thought of writing one more paper, added to the existing load of a disabled daughter, a house under construction, a husband about to undergo surgery, a fifteen year old son on high school swim team, a dog training business to run, and a brand new litter of German Shepherd puppies born two days before my graduation, well...yeah. I was pretty overwhelmed. And I have no vices to fall back on, to aid coping during those tough times that seem to crop up WAY too frequently. I try to ride stress out, but sometimes it rides me, and wears me down.

Did I mention that I am 53? (Actually I'll be 54 in less than two months.)
No, but there it is; I am. Old. At least for my college years.

I was a late bloomer. I dropped out of school at 17 to pursue self education and self employment. Despite being perpetually interested in almost everything, especially animal behavior, I was really lonely. I missed out on a large part of the learning experience, namely discourse, though I didn't know that up until four years ago. That is when, one cold January day, I took the GED at our local (wonderful!) community college, the College of DuPage. I did pretty well, there, and they featured me in some press: Student Spotlight: Peggy Moran.

My late-in-life scholarly pursuits have been good for me, if grueling; and now, unplugged and a drop-out again, I feel pretty discouraged.

But enough about me; I want to talk about Anthrozoology, the multidisciplinary academic field also known as human-nonhuman animal studies.

I intend to use this blog as my own, hopefully-not-but-probably-once-again-pretty-lonely, compensatory attempt to self-educate. No more scholarship? No problem!

I am going to be a grad school homeschooler!  

Despite that sounding just as weird as it is, if you are reading this, please consider being my classmate. I am not trying to get a degree, or even a better job; I am just very, very interested in connections, especially ones that pertain to other living beings of both the human and nonhuman sort. Maybe you are, too.

Perhaps we can learn together, you and I--provided there is a you out there, reading this...
I sure hope so!