Going to College as an Adult

It's not in your head. And 25% sounds about right. And there is no shame in that! My uncle is an electrician, very skilled. A friend is a carpenter who through word of mouth does custom work.

But I bet if people applied themselves that 25% could turn to 50%. That is where this piss poor attitude comes in. If you want it, you can learn it. Or, let's say 50% can. But we are stuck at shit student "culture" at too many schools. And yeah, in 20 years the losers will complain how "college is a waste of time." It is -- for them.

20 year olds around the world would give anything for a US college education. That is what really pisses me off. The losers are throwing away opportunities that only a few generations in history will have. They could be a biologist when humans first land on Mars, and be the first generation to pore over the data. But no. They have "better" things to do. SMH.

Don't do that wormie. I know I fuckin procrastinate and it never works. What works is somehow -- prayer, sacrifice a chicken, I don't know -- getting on top of it immediately, get it well underway immediately. It is like a reverse stress machine. Some semesters, I was consistently 2-3 weeks ahead of all my deadlines. All research did, all lectures densely outlined on legal pads (which is how I roll), all handouts selected and printed out rtg, etc. It was like floating on a feather. At the end of the semester I didn't feel tired or stressed.

I had one trick when I was a student. Don't take the breaks. Don't go home for Thanksgiving, don't go on Spring Break. It was both 1) cheep and 2) especially Spring Break, I got so far ahead in all my classes I was totally chill the last half of the semester. I already had started all the work and got the basics done. Readings? All done.

It IS a sacrifice. But it is a good trick, and it does work. It's like giving yourself an extra week over everyone else.

I just hate stress. I am always looking for tricks to eliminate it. Some can deal with it better than I can. I like to always have reserves in case shit unexpectedly gets tough, I always have fresh legs, so to speak.

edit: the don't take the breaks trick works as an adult student as well. Just don't consider it "time off." You effective give yourself an extra week over everyone else. It was always my best trick. My friends all came back happier, but by the end of the semester I was still the only one who could easily fit a wake and bake into my day's plans.

Post an update how it goes! We are coming from the same place here: I get a kick when someone figures out this secret. Everything clicks better. And then you can start doing some real work, because you are on top of it. Excellent. I sometimes use military analogies. It's about being squared away. Ask the kid if Grimsy slacked on being good at making coffee just because all hell was breaking loose in Black Hawk Down. No. No he didn't.