In this continuing Alice in Wonderland/college/adult learner exploration, I would be remiss if I didn’t address the caterpillar in the room.

I am, of course, referring to the Blue Caterpillar who is first introduced to Alice by challenging her existence.

OOO….RRR…UUU spells the smoke as the Blue Caterpillar looks at Alice and placidly sucks on the hookah.

This is a very important question. WHO ARE YOU.

This is an answer that college will definitely challenge. After all, being in college usually means working toward a degree or a certificate that will redefine you. It is important to begin the journey with a sense of self.

During Alice’s time in Wonderland, the Blue Caterpillar is important, beginning with the first question. Her answer is that she doesn’t know, or, rather, that the answer had changed from that morning. Being aware of the changes in perception of self that college brings is also a very important nugget of information to have. Of equal importance is the acceptance that Alice has changed as a person, even since she woke up in the morning.

In my myriad of college experiences, I feel that I’ve remained the same person, even though that cannot possibly be the case. It is how others perceive me that has changed. I was a teenager in my first experience and I grew up. As one does. I was a CNA when I re-started nursing school after an injury. Through that journey, I became a telemetry tech and a uni secretary who just happened to do CNA tasks as well. After nursing school, I was a nurse. Going back to school for my BSN, MSN and now, I remain a nurse first, and a student second.

Every college experience is a journey. Hopefully, you or your Alice has a Blue Caterpillar to offer up things to eat for growth. Kind of like how students have to go through classes, learning and writing all the way, to get out the other side.

The Who Are You answer may fundamentally change.

Or it might not.

But growth is the way through college.

No matter how it is defined.