Back to College
 

After studying Italian for a year (conversational) I thought it was time to go back to Community College. I really enjoy it. It is strange being amongst 18-22 year olds.
There are some older folks, but a very small %.
I'm there with my wife, but if you are a single young guy.............oH forget it:D

I'm 48.. still take classes at the CC... I enjoy school..

Also I am a pocket protector geek type... so I took Differential Equations again a few years ago.. I would crack up when the teacher is writing a problem on the the board... and all the younger people in the class were struggling to punch the buttons on the calculators... rather than solve it on paper... which is usually faster..

But wonder if I was like the aliens in my class when I was their age?

I was easily the oldest welding student. Older than the instructors too. Now, that's when it gets sorta strange. Remember when the principal always seemed like really old? ;)

My wife graduated 2 years ago with a BA at age 60. She was on the honor roll. The younger ones didn't have any ethics or dedication. For her to get an A was like shooting fish in a barrel. But, she had to attend and study. That's about it. I wrote many pages of her bigger papers as she held down a 9 to 5 the whole time.

So, hey, I got A's too!

In the late 80's I took some tech math and calculus night classes thinking maybe electrical engineering. I was 34 at the time and working 50+ hrs a week. I was the old man on campus and the kids looked 15 not 18.

One class started with 40 students, 10 dropped, and 20 were using tutors to keep up. No dumbing down, just a nice steady pace, that wasn't impossible if you showed up for each class and did the nightly 2 hours of homework. After going through HS with a just-get-by attitude, I was very pleased/proud to hold a 4.0 gpa in the 5 classes I took without any outside help. Work got in the way, sent me traveling, and I never got back into it. It would have taken me 6-7 years at that pace to get an AA degree and it seemed impossible at the time. Looking back, I should have tried harder to complete the courses.

Oh yeah, I spent 5 years getting an AA. Worthless except the exposure to subject matter. Then I went out and got a real education. And then, I got my wife's education. ;) Shoot, I ought to have some sort of honorary degree. If Sylvester Stallone has an honorary degree, I should have a PHD. OK, make it a masters and I'll settle. :D

I hereby proclaim you Dottore "Milt" PHD, majoring and minoring in writing, welding, carpentry, driving, and husbanding:D

I went back mid-20s, graduated at 28 with an aerospace engineering degree. I felt old, but fortunately there were quite a few other "old guys". The gap wasn't so large that I didn't make friends, some of which I still meet for a beer occasionally.

Nobody will ever understand how tough it is to go back, unless you've done it. After spending years away, I had to "learn to learn". Much easier said than done, it's hard being an engineering student after 4 years of construction.

I went back at 31, and it was the best decision I have ever made. I realized that the shelf life was coming to an end, so I walked away from a great job to finish. It was something I had always wanted to accomplish for myself. 6 full semesters later and I will be a college graduate come May at age 34.

The first semester was a bit of a learning curve, and has been the only one I haven't made the dean's list (3.5 and up). I've had it on autopilot for the most part. Go to class, take notes, make friends, review for test and make A's. It's not very difficult. You just have to have the discipline to not procrastinate when you have free time. I have not made a 4.0 b/c I have a tendency to blow off one of the first exams in one of my classes each semester. That will not be the case this, my last, semester. The time has flown by.

And the wool on campus? Oh my!!:eek::D It's good to be single.;) I may just give the economy time to heal and stay in school. Grad school or Law school sounds nice right now.

I need to get off this PPOT, I have my first exam tomorrow, I should be studying... My professore is Italian, a PHD in linguistics, He's really tough.
Language is tough, I have been doing audio tapes for over a year, now its all about grammer, writing and reading. :confused:

I'm good, even if I fail I will bring my professore a bottle of Brunello di Montalchino instead of an apple.

Well, if someone steps up & buys one of the business' (and I don't get involved, start another one) I will go back for law, started, changed majors, regretted it. Of course I'm still buddies with former class mates, but should be in there too.

Go for it!!!! I love learning:D