Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer. For young children all the way up to working adults logging on to Web classes, school is in session.

There’s nothing I miss about being in school, and this time of year always makes me smile as I notice that “back-to-school” advertisements do not pertain to me. However, I do miss how school had a way of clarifying and defining our growth.

Every year you move up a grade. You take new classes and you learn new things. You say goodbye to old friends and meet new ones. Every September, you get a chance to redefine yourself.

I miss that. Once I got out into the working world, I realized that there are three-month summer vacations and you can keep the same office in the same building in the same job for decades if you want to. Change doesn’t come as readily.

Or does it?

The great thing about being out of school is that you are now in control of your life. Your growth is up to you. You don’t need to be in a classroom to learn. The world is now your classroom.

For example, that difficult person you work with is a teacher. He or she is teaching you how to have patience. That faucet that leaks in your bathroom is a teacher. It’s a problem that you need to solve. You see? There are lessons everywhere and in everything if you’re willing to see them.

As you see kids with backpacks loading on to school buses for the first time, remember that you are a lifelong student as well and opportunities to grow and graduate are all around you.
Enroll today. What is life trying to teach you?