Where to go from here?

[Scott]

Well, had my final in inorganic today.  Fairly sure I [beep] the [beep] [beep] out of it.  A semester down the drain.  Which translates to the last two years down the drain.  Don't know what to think about that yet.  Not sure where my life is going to go (at 41 - that seems pathetic to me), or what I'm going to do.  But there you go.  It is what it is. 

The only up-side to this, is that I'm suddenly, in a flash of mental and emotional spasms, having a ton of ideas for photo projects.  I need to write them down, 'cause I can't remember anything anymore.  Hoping that I regain some motivation (here I come, hypomania) and start clearing off all kinds of projects.  Serious photography is high on my list.

A work in progress.  Starting next week (tomorrow I have to turn in a poorly-completed lab notebook, then the weekend is devoted to inlaws and lacrosse), I'll be spending some time trying to find my creativity again.  And maybe some semblence of sanity.

[jamesmck]

Scott - Don't laugh, but a professional career counselor might help.  Just MHO.

James

[LarryD]

Every time I thought I bleeped a test I did much better than I thought... Hang in there....

[Greg M]

  Don't judge yourself too harshly.  You may be surprised at the good things that can come out of our roughest times.  You have a gift for relating to your family, from what I have seen on your posts, making good photos, and getting into the inner workings of complex mechanisms (camera repair).
   There are no failures, just lessons that need to be repeated until we learn what we need from them.
    From my own experience, I was headed into being a veterinarian until I released I hated organic and inorganic chemistry. Taking them for the second or third time I realized I was getting C's and D's because I was forcing myself.  Letting things happen I went into another field and everything flowed.  Lessons to be learned.

[Philip]

I changed careers at 47 (just over ten years ago) and have never looked back.

At the university where I work, that pair of courses, in- and organic chem, are said to be the courses with the lowest first-time-through pass rate. I've heard it's as low as 20%.  Most students apparently go back again and again to get it.  Don't give up. Or, if you do give up the inorganic and whatever that route is, don't stop looking for the new direction.

(By the way, I gave up on chemistry in high school; it was my lowest mark.  Never took it past then but today I understand a lot more than my chemistry teacher would have predicted.)

I don't think courses are ever down the drain. Even a failed course can translate years later into things that are worthwhile and special in ways you can't predict.  I flunked out of university as a teenager (due to uhh pinball and certain things that might get mentioned in organic chem courses), but it made a really positive difference to the rest of my life. I'm glad now I flunked. No kidding.

And 41, hey? Well, you're probably going to reach sixty, hopefully a lot more.  And you can do that either with or without the changes. The choice seems clear! Keep at it.

And good luck.  Especially with the photo projects!

[jake]

What Philip said. My father was a chemistry (now he is emeritus not dead but past tense applies as he's out goofing around constantly not teaching) professor, and he taught inorganic or physical chemistry for his entire career (1969-2001.) As a result, he probably holds the record for flunking the most students total for the entire university. His advice (and I know, because I have over-heard enough late night phone calls from panicked students over the years) is to take it again and this time, get a tutor that you'll work with every week.

[martolod]

...........past tense applies as he's out goofing around constantly not teaching)..........


in other words by having fun and making nitroglycerin and moonshine in the school lab...

[nelsonfoto]

Scott - Don't kick yourself, and don't quit. You sound like you know the problem (poorly executed lab work) and therein lies the solution.

Note that I took Intro to Bio while working on my AA from the CC, before entering U of A.  I did not apply myself and came close to failing. Cost me a stuffload of cash for the class, only to have to take it again at UA before I can graduate. That's the bad news. The good news is, I'll damned sure stay on top of it next time.

My intelligence is such that the majority of my courses end up boring me, and it takes little effort for me to succeed in them--especially given the crop of students I have to call peers. I learned quickly that busting my hump to be perfect (4.0) was a waste of effort as many of these courses are curved to hell and back. So, I've backed off my input, some, but didn't apply myself when I most needed to (BIOL) and it bit me.

Recognize your strengths. Accept them. Build on them. Recognize your weaknesses--Attack them! Stay after them. Be disciplined.

You can do this. Your age matters little. Be sure your major ends up being what you A) Want it to be and B) In some field that will allow you to take care of business once you are finished.

Don't give up. Accept that you can do this and "see" yourself graduating in the not-so-distant future.

I'm just now, nearly a senior, figuring out my path. I know where I'm headed now.

For the first few years, I had no clue. I talked the talk, but didn't believe any of it. Frankly, I could not envision my graduating with the 2-yr degree and was frankly somewhat shocked when it came time for me to graduate.

Now, I've accepted that I can and will finish my BA at the ripe old age of 44. In fact, I'm almost certainly going to minor as well, perhaps even double major (SPAN and LAST [Latin Am Studies]). The future is starting to take form.

Sorry if I'm being overbearing here. I do not mean to be.

Hang in there. Drop me a line if you want to discuss it further or pick my brain.

Well, had my final in inorganic today.  Fairly sure I [beep] the [beep] [beep] out of it.  A semester down the drain.  Which translates to the last two years down the drain.  Don't know what to think about that yet.  Not sure where my life is going to go (at 41 - that seems pathetic to me), or what I'm going to do.  But there you go.  It is what it is. 

The only up-side to this, is that I'm suddenly, in a flash of mental and emotional spasms, having a ton of ideas for photo projects.  I need to write them down, 'cause I can't remember anything anymore.  Hoping that I regain some motivation (here I come, hypomania) and start clearing off all kinds of projects.  Serious photography is high on my list.

A work in progress.  Starting next week (tomorrow I have to turn in a poorly-completed lab notebook, then the weekend is devoted to inlaws and lacrosse), I'll be spending some time trying to find my creativity again.  And maybe some semblence of sanity.

[nelsonfoto]

FWIW - yer not the only old fart who went back to school. Lots have. Hell, among us there is also Erie, though I'm not sure how far along he is. In school that is. 

[Scott]

Well, though I haven't replied immediately to the input you folks have given me, that's not due to lack of pondering.  It's a hard thing to balance, putting yourself out on the Internet.  Don't want to say too much, but a lack of info can mislead.

Lemme jus' say this: I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.  At 41, I'm going through some very decidedly pointed growing pains for the first time in a couple decades, and while I'm not liking it, I'm trying to learn from it and incorporate the lessons learned.  Dunno where I'm going to end up or how this is all gonna play out, but there ya go.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone.  I'm trying to learn from 'em.

Scott

[LarryD]

LOL at 51 I am going through Growing Pains.. and not all from growing older. I am about to give up a great and secure job of 7 years to just do nothing and regroup. Hey it may be a middle age thing but I doubt it. I am just worn out and who knows? I may try to just be a bum and document that.

[Major Black]

Well Scott you are certainly blessed with many friends here. Lots of good advice.

I'm sure that you will find what's right for you, you have the right attitude (open).
Wishing you all the best.

[epatsellis]

FWIW - yer not the only old fart who went back to school. Lots have. Hell, among us there is also Erie, though I'm not sure how far along he is. In school that is. 

Certifiable, I'm quite sure. Seriously, I'm a sophomore (in addition to being sophomoric, can't keep my eyes of the (way to young for me) hotties, the lecherous thoughts...) Could have stayed at the community college and gotten a near perfect GPA and graduate with honors, but no.....gotta go get myself into a high falutin' private university (full ride, thankfully, more details in my post in TFU..) and now I'm actually gonna have to work at it. The inhumanity of it all....


Not so bad Scott, really, at 47, I still appreciate my fellow students assets (or was it.....) and contributions, so I guess I'm not a totally miserable old fart. Still, going back to their age, if I had only known then what I know now...(as if I'm the first to say that.) I'd just mulligan the class, look at it this way, it should be easier the second go round (theoretically, just like marriages...)


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