Day 18...

was a good day at school.  I had a meeting with a professor to discuss my midterm grade and my ideas for my 8 page final essay exam.  I loved hearing that I am getting an A, but the whole 8 page essay talk hurt my ears.

When I registered back in November, I thought this semester would be a good way to break back into school.  I didn't want to take any math or science or anything I thought would be hard, so instead I take 2 philosophy courses with a speech & ethnic studies course.  I can't even tell you how much reading and writing I am doing these days.  It's a bit ridiculous.  Now I realize a math course would have been a nice "do your problems and you're done" sort of class to break up some of the more subjective learning I am interested in.

The lesson here is that: I will know better next time, which really, is more important than every A I feel driven to earn.

I figured out years ago that educated people don't mean smart people.  We've all work with some highly educated people that are complete and total idiots.  Often times, I trust and value the opinions of my less formally educated, but smart and down-to-earth friends and colleagues, more than the experts.  The nice thing about being a non-traditional "older adult" student is that I am able to draw on my life experiences to enrich all of the new information I am receiving in class.

Sadly, most of the 18-22 year olds sitting next to me have another decade or so of figuring that out.  I consider myself lucky to be in college now.  I believe I will get a more complete & profound learning experience than those "kids" sitting next to me.

Probably because, there is a distractingly old lady in their class who keeps calling them"kids!" 

P.S.  Today, during my persuasive speech, I could have sold high speed rail to Henry Ford.   Another A+!  I am starting to wonder if this guy gives out A+'s pretty haphazardly.

Shit....those math grades are going to be hard to look at next semester, maybe I will be able to persuade my math professor that my work is outstanding and deserving of a passing grade.