The idea to write the memoir College Life of a Retired Senior came about like many ideas that present themselves to authors—without warning, planning or effort; it just seeped into my consciousness. When I decided to go back to school seven years after retiring from a thirty-seven-year banking career, I had one objective, to learn how to add texture to my writing. 

After York University accepted me into the English degree program, I thought more about the journey I was about to embark. I realized I would be attending classes with students the ages of two of my grandchildren, and another idea evolved. Why not observe and document these millennials? 

My two older grandchildren, who fit into the millennial category, had not bothered to communicate with me since they became teenagers, so I knew little about their thinking. It seemed ironical when studies indicated that this demographic was highly skilled in technology, yet they did not use it to connect with me. 

I concluded that attending classes with millennials would allow me to observe how they behaved, spoke to professors and peers, and approached their studies. I would also learn how they handled technology.

At the completion of my degree, I planned to use the information gathered as fodder for articles I would write on each topic. Of course, things turned out differently. The end result is the book College Life of a Retired Senior.