Oh God Droopy,

Do I ever envy you! I think I remember (and please feel free to kick me HARD if I'm wrong) but when it was your birthday recently you said you were no spring chicken anymore? I went back to college when I was 38, man, was I ever scared. It seemed like me and all these young kids, who BTW, went out of their way to call me sir...I was working part time in the day school at night, and it was hard. My advice to you is is find YOUR pace and work it to your advantage. This is your education, your future, and letting someone who sits behind a desk with no vested interest in the outcome of your studies dictate the pace you work at is not to your advantage. I worked a little more slowly at first, taking a little extra class time to bring myself up to speed. My classmates were really helpful in helping me understand the coursework. And in short time I was right up with everyone else, and people were coming to me for help. It was one of the most rewarding and enriching experiences of my life. I finished the course with a 4.0 GPA and made the Honor Roll. It was one of the proudest days of my life when they hung that yellow sash with the gold medallion around my neck.

Droopy, Set your goals, make them clear to the school, and then work them. The only one who should push you any harder, is you. You CAN do this. Yes, it is overwhelming, but this country is made up people who are successes because they did things they didn't think they could do. You'll be one of those. All my luck and good wishes.

I wish I could go back to school...enjoy!

Greg