As I recently walked through a university district of central Melbourne, I was amazed at the student culture that surrounded me.  Students were mixtures of youths, middle-aged people in business suits, and much older, retired people who decided to return to school.  Some of them pursue dreams.  Other students may take courses during life transitions, or be passing the time or even soul-searching. Clues to their reasons for being there can be seen via a glance at their facial expressions and whether they play Nintendo or carry any books. 

I ponder how times have changed for students, not only in terms of age, but also in terms of motivation.  Education wasn't always accessible or chosen by people from different walks of life, let-a-lone in different life phases. I met a grandmother in her 70s who decided to finally earn a degree after she never had the time, money or freedom to pursue it in her youth. And why not?  

One friend of mine, who is a nurse, went back to get a psychology degree in her mid-forties while she was also working and her boys were teenagers.  Earning the degree was a challenge she set for herself. Looking back, she considers taking the time that she put in was itself a luxury.

Other young people have told me they study because they think it will help them land a better job, even if they don't yet know what their goals or passions really are.  I also know people who return to school after becoming unemployed. They sometimes assume more school is the best solution to unforseen financial problems.  School is an arena to re-evaluate habits and progress.

So, university is now a setting for people of all ages, skin and hair colors to explore identities.   If you're drawn to different countries, you become an international student to "find yourself."   In the big libraries, you join students wearing beach flip flops in rain, cut off beach pants in winter and sweaters in summer. Almost anything goes. People try things out to see how they feel.  Their logic will not always be your logic. Some people wear pajamas, others walk off in formal clothes toward class. Each person has a personality that is taking shape. This arena fosters inner change. 

As I passed by, daredevils chatted on mobile phones as they rushed through intersections.  Some of them ignored the circulation lights and dodged oncoming cars and trams.  It appeared to me that making one's way to university required unexpected survival skills. Learning in a classroom, I recall being taught what famous people had historically done and why. Yet, I wasn't usually taught how to do things.  This part of learning is what I call the "university of life." My own sources of motivation are things I constantly discover on my own, wherever I am in the world.