I am very supportive of anyone who gets their sh*t together at some point in their lives.

Call it "forced growth".

No question. Just wanted to make you feel welcome and to give you reasons to stick around. DU is a good place for us to get united against the impending threat against our liberties.

Glad I'm still here. Sometimes I wonder if it was all necessary. Then I remember myself from a few years back, and... yeah.

YIKES.

Welcome back to DU.

locked out after the DU hack, shutdown and re-emergence with improved security measures.

The most determined, it seems, return with new accounts when they cannot get their old ones restored.

Anyway, welcome back all (even if you were from before my time).

DFT. The only thing that comes to mind is Donald "F*ucking" Trump, but I can't imagine that speculating negatively about him would have resulted in any punitive measures against you.

As an old fart myself going through a seemingly late in life "mid life" crisis - - - may I ask how old you are?

I've kind of tossed around the idea of finishing my degree.

I should have gone back to school ten years ago and just didn't. It took a major upheaval (entirely self-made, I should point out) to make me take the plunge.

I'm glad I did. Going back to school was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

And you are a mere youngster. Seriously, congratulations.

He was glad that he did. I also know a woman who became a lawyer at 45 and had a successful career as a lawyer for 20 years until she retired. I don't know how old you are but there are lots of people who go back to school when they are older. I was just reading a news story about a 94 year old woman who just got her bachelors degree. A quick google search brought up a bunch more stories about midlife and older people getting degrees.

Vet tech. A lot of my previous college ed would transfer, I think.

My current job is about to end. Small business and the boss is retiring. Gotta figure out the finances, etc. and see what I can do.

And you ain't gettin' any younger!!

I wanted to be a veterinarian, but settled for teaching instead. That was a different time for girls though. Oh well, what might have been.

n/t

Obtaining an education in any subject you care about is *always* worthwhile. We have our teachers to thank for that.

My dear femmocrat, if you "settled" for teaching, you didn't "settle" for anything. You've touched more lives than most of us ever will, and the ripples spread by that hold incalculable value. I mean that; I hold teachers in the highest regard and am deeply grateful for what all of you do.

Without good teachers, I'd have been lost. Thank you.

It was a different time. There were fewer options for girls.

I am happy to hear that you have had good teachers and they helped you along the way.

Did you bring back any good weed that you want to share?

..... I'll just stop that train of thought right there...

It looks like you did something productive with your midlife crisis. Did you take night classes will holding a full time job?

I'm very fortunate in the fact that, after a rough patch once I returned from California (which is all its own story I might tell at some point), I ended up in a situation where I was able to go to school full time without having to worry about pulling a paycheck while doing so.

It was pure, unadulterated nick-of-time luck of the sort that is ordinarily so rare nobody sane comes to depend on it. For some reason beyond my understanding, I've had multiple doses of such over the past few years... and more often, and more timely, than anyone reasonable would ever believe. One or two of those incidents still have me scratching my head.

Nobody gets this kind of "life luck" this often, and I've been forced by events and their results to reevaluate a few things I once believed (or did not believe) to be true. I will not waste the opportunity I've been graced with.

And I do think "graced" is the exactly correct word for it.

He's always pulled my ass out of the fire but he likes to see me suffer.

Hell, I'd probably be like that if I had to watch over someone like me.

Welcome back, Occulus.

I've been reevaluating things lately. I'm hoping to make some changes this year.

I'm back after a 2 year break (under a new screen name, I was tabbycat31 but lost the password and no longer use the email on that account).

Brace yourself for a rough ride for 4 years.

Welcome back!

DU kept me sane during the Bush years but once Obama took office, I didn't feel like I had to "monitor" the world. Now that a sexual predator and fascist is in the White House, I've returned because I learn something new about this country every time I log in to DU. Also, the humor and sense of community is awesome!

Yes we need to stay on top of all things Trump, the RW Congress and resist where necessary. The Women's March Saturday just shows what we can do when we come together.

We need a safe haven more than ever now.

Just in time for the country to jump from the refrigerator (i.e. cool) into the incinerator (i.e. hell).

Better get yourself a dictionary. Republicanese is evolving as a separate language. They are no longer content just using an apostrophe to form a plural, writing "loose" where you mean "lose," writing "your" where you mean "you're," or using "their," "there," and "they're" always in the wrong context. Now, they even have their own separate vocabulary. Where English uses the simple word "lies," Republicanese now uses the expression "alternative facts."

A living language is always a work in progress, so be prepared in the near future for the following:

English: failure = Republicanese: Alternative success
English: pollution = Republicanese: Alternative ecology
English: murder = Republicanese: Alternative pro-life stance
English: math error = Republicanese: Alternative accounting
English: child abuse = Republicanese: Alternative child care
English: rape = Republicanese: Alternative affection
English: electoral fraud = Republicanese: President Trump*

*There is an antiquated Republicanese expression for this, known as "President George W. Bush," but its use has now been largely supplanted by the current "President Trump."