I got in!!! ...

[Tenor CS]

Short version: I GOT ACCEPTED INTO UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA'S MOLECULAR AND MICRO-BIOLOGY (pre-med) PROGRAM!!! I start in August.

Longer version: Some of you know that at the tender young age of 34, I'm back in school.

Right now, I'm at Valencia Community College in Orlando, taking Introductory Chemistry, Introductory Biology, and College Algebra.

The long-term plan is to go to Pharmacy school.

The short term plan requires me to complete at least 2 years of pre-requisites in order to get in to Pharmacy school.

Due to a weird rule that I never knew about, I cannot pursue a degree at VCC. (I have a Master's. If you have anything above an Associate's degree, you can't get another Associate's). Since I can't pursue a degree, I cannot qualify for Financial Aid. So I HAD to go to a 4-year college.

I was a little worried about going back to school after so long, and in such a different field, (my Master's is in Opera), so I signed up for these intro courses just to see if I could hack it. My logic: If I couldn't even pass intro chemistry at a community college, I obviously had no business trying to become a pharmacist. I'm doing very well and feeling a lot more confident about my decision.

My wife has been a rock through all this, working 3 jobs while I've been unemployed to keep us afloat. Mom and Dad and other family have been helping us financially as well.

It should take me about 2 1/2 to 3 years to finish my pre-med stuff, then Pharmacy school is 4 years. I know that it will be a long, hard slog, but hopefully, this will put me in a better position to make life better for us as a family.

Just wanted to share the good news with my CA family.

PS I'm feeling a lot better, health-wise, as well!