I am proud to say I am able to check the first item off my 40 by 40 Bucket List Challenge. I decided to begin with item 23: Take a class on something completely out of my comfort zone.
This one was easy to do, since like most of the country, I am under quarantine/under a stay at home order due to coronavirus. Since I am at home, I figured it was as good a time as any to begin my list. I was originally going to do a mechanic class for this item, but since I cannot actually LEAVE my house, I looked at some online courses.
It actually ended up being easier than I thought to find one, thanks to one of my Facebook friends posting a link for FREE Ivy League courses. Taking classes a an Ivy League school is something I’ve always secretly wanted to do, particularly at Harvard. However, I’m neither rich nor smart enough to get in on my own. Color me surprised when I saw Harvard offered several free courses. (Although, I did pay to get the certification!)
Of course, I initially gravitated toward some of the literature courses (mostly the ones for Shakespeare), but the point of my list is to take something I am NOT comfortable with, something that scares me. I looked at several and finally settled on a meteorology class. I’ve always been fascinated by weather and think Al Roker, Ira Joe Fisher, Melissa Cole and Ginger Zee are among the coolest people EVER on TV. (Seriously, how do Melissa and Ginger keep their hair and makeup in tact in those weather conditions?)
Anyway, I was never great at science, so this seemed like the perfect choice. Plus..HELLO? HARVARD? To quote Becca Kufrin, ‘let’s do the damn thing!’
The course itself was surprisingly easy. Most of it was stuff I remembered from Earth Science in high school and a 4H fair project I had done with my group back in ninth grade. (Who knew my old brain would retain all that information?) However, there was some stuff in the course that I had forgotten and some new information I had not yet learned. This is what was a bit intimidating and forced me to step out of my comfort zone, especially since it was an online class and I was all on my own! I also had to motivate myself to DO it on my own because it was a self paced course, rather than one that has structured times for each unit.
I will say that taking this course was one of the coolest things (outside my job) I have done and I am thrilled to have a new skill (and certificate) under my belt. I never thought I would take another science class on purpose, let alone a class through HARVARD University, but I’m proud of myself for doing it and being able to check the first thing off my 40 by 40 bucket list. I may not be a meteorologist, but at least I now know what they are talking about during weather reports.
