This post relates a lot to me, I'm 39 but after big hesitation due to a busy job and juggling around with a small child I have enrolled to start study a BA in History in a distance university from September. Thanks for inspiring me. Ευχαριστώ πολύ!
My son - aged 10 - goes to bed reading about history every night and is becoming a bit of an expert on various world empires. Spots connections linking them and high level themes. I did a Classics degree then law and the history has never left me, but I always loved drama and literature too. I’m currently writing a historical fiction book about Galen but focussing on his imagined daughter (we don’t know one way or another what family he had so I had room for conjecture here). But there are lots of real characters and real ancient literary references. I spend more time on that than on the articles in here, but I love both.
Learning has no age, studying has no age, and passion has no age. I think you’re brave, a lot of people give up on passions and dreams thinking it’s ‘too late’. As long as you’re alive, there are no time limits on when to do something you like.
Plus we are forced to choose at 18 what we want to do for the rest of out lives, and at that age we barely know who we are. I am doing my second master’s at 37, and I intend to do my PhD, too.
Thank you, Maria! If we don't follow our passion—something that makes us wake up eager in the morning—what are we? Just wandering flesh waiting to die.
Loved reading this. Im 56, newly retired- and just started a Certificate in archaeology and genealogy at Aberystwyth university. Ive waited a long time for this. Loving every minute of it😀💫
You are wondering, “What drives a man to become a student in his 40s?” and you say you don’t yet have an answer. I may be wrong, but here is my two cents.
I believe you grew up in a time and place where masculinity was not associated with being a good student or following an academic path. Academic excellence was often seen as something “soft,” a trait of a gentle or delicate boy rather than the “cool” or strong one. In that environment, intellectual curiosity may not have been celebrated in boys the way toughness, decisiveness, and professional certainty were.
You may have always enjoyed learning, but it was never presented to you as a priority. It was not framed as something compatible with being a “real man.” Then, when you graduated, you were misled by inappropriate guidance regarding your future choices. Instead of being encouraged to explore your interests, you were directed toward employment security and with it, financial stability. At that age, stability feels like the responsible choice. It feels like maturity.
You were made to believe that becoming a police officer guaranteed quick and secure professional establishment, in other words, stable financial independence at a young age. And of course, that is what a man is “supposed” to do: offer stability and safety for a future family. Not be a dreamer, not be a poet, not spend years searching for Alexander the Great’s tomb. The message was clear: responsibility over curiosity, security over exploration.
So for many years, you followed a career that you served with passion, integrity, and discipline. No one can question your dedication. But I am not sure that it fully satisfied your inner self. It fulfilled a social role. It met expectations. It satisfied your environment. But what about Konstantinos? What about the parts of you that were quiet, patient, waiting?
I believe that twenty years later, wiser, more self-aware, and less concerned with what society demands from you, you decided to finally address what had remained unfulfilled inside you. This decision was not sudden. It was ripening slowly over the years. You did not “wake up” at 40. You matured into this clarity.
Some may say you wasted time. I would say: κάλλιο αργά παρά ποτέ.
Yes, it is more difficult now. You have responsibilities, fatigue, and a life already built. But it is never too late to pursue your intellectual hunger, to invest in your interests, to choose growth over comfort.
I have always believed that the uniform was only a costume for you. The police uniform was wearing you; you were not wearing it. Beneath it, there was always a boy full of hesitation and inner sensitivity, thoughtful, restrained, questioning. That part of you never disappeared. It simply waited for the right moment to emerge.
This post relates a lot to me, I'm 39 but after big hesitation due to a busy job and juggling around with a small child I have enrolled to start study a BA in History in a distance university from September. Thanks for inspiring me. Ευχαριστώ πολύ!
Yes! 💪 That's what I'm talking about! Thank you for this comment!
My son - aged 10 - goes to bed reading about history every night and is becoming a bit of an expert on various world empires. Spots connections linking them and high level themes. I did a Classics degree then law and the history has never left me, but I always loved drama and literature too. I’m currently writing a historical fiction book about Galen but focussing on his imagined daughter (we don’t know one way or another what family he had so I had room for conjecture here). But there are lots of real characters and real ancient literary references. I spend more time on that than on the articles in here, but I love both.
And look at you now, ready to publish that book! 💪
Learning has no age, studying has no age, and passion has no age. I think you’re brave, a lot of people give up on passions and dreams thinking it’s ‘too late’. As long as you’re alive, there are no time limits on when to do something you like.
Plus we are forced to choose at 18 what we want to do for the rest of out lives, and at that age we barely know who we are. I am doing my second master’s at 37, and I intend to do my PhD, too.
Thank you, Maria! If we don't follow our passion—something that makes us wake up eager in the morning—what are we? Just wandering flesh waiting to die.
Loved reading this. Im 56, newly retired- and just started a Certificate in archaeology and genealogy at Aberystwyth university. Ive waited a long time for this. Loving every minute of it😀💫
I love this! 🎉 💪
You are wondering, “What drives a man to become a student in his 40s?” and you say you don’t yet have an answer. I may be wrong, but here is my two cents.
I believe you grew up in a time and place where masculinity was not associated with being a good student or following an academic path. Academic excellence was often seen as something “soft,” a trait of a gentle or delicate boy rather than the “cool” or strong one. In that environment, intellectual curiosity may not have been celebrated in boys the way toughness, decisiveness, and professional certainty were.
You may have always enjoyed learning, but it was never presented to you as a priority. It was not framed as something compatible with being a “real man.” Then, when you graduated, you were misled by inappropriate guidance regarding your future choices. Instead of being encouraged to explore your interests, you were directed toward employment security and with it, financial stability. At that age, stability feels like the responsible choice. It feels like maturity.
You were made to believe that becoming a police officer guaranteed quick and secure professional establishment, in other words, stable financial independence at a young age. And of course, that is what a man is “supposed” to do: offer stability and safety for a future family. Not be a dreamer, not be a poet, not spend years searching for Alexander the Great’s tomb. The message was clear: responsibility over curiosity, security over exploration.
So for many years, you followed a career that you served with passion, integrity, and discipline. No one can question your dedication. But I am not sure that it fully satisfied your inner self. It fulfilled a social role. It met expectations. It satisfied your environment. But what about Konstantinos? What about the parts of you that were quiet, patient, waiting?
I believe that twenty years later, wiser, more self-aware, and less concerned with what society demands from you, you decided to finally address what had remained unfulfilled inside you. This decision was not sudden. It was ripening slowly over the years. You did not “wake up” at 40. You matured into this clarity.
Some may say you wasted time. I would say: κάλλιο αργά παρά ποτέ.
Yes, it is more difficult now. You have responsibilities, fatigue, and a life already built. But it is never too late to pursue your intellectual hunger, to invest in your interests, to choose growth over comfort.
I have always believed that the uniform was only a costume for you. The police uniform was wearing you; you were not wearing it. Beneath it, there was always a boy full of hesitation and inner sensitivity, thoughtful, restrained, questioning. That part of you never disappeared. It simply waited for the right moment to emerge.
And now it has.
I am glad for your choices.
Well, for better or worse, they've gotten me where I stand now, so I must have done at least something right! :)