An excerpt from The Adult Student’s Guide

 Updated Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Just because you’re not eighteen anymore doesn’t mean that you’re not nervous about going back to school again. A lot of eighteen-year-olds go to college because its what they’re supposed to do after they finish high school. You’re in college for a reason. And mom and dad aren’t paying the bills anymore, either. There are many types of different programs for adult learners, and some of them will be a better fit for you than others. You will encounter a different kind of administrator and bureaucracy than you may be used to, as well as new kinds of classroom learning. You will have to make adjustments in your life, as the demands of a college education compete with both family and work for your time. And you will have to find a way to pay for a college education.

    Timothy John had two first names. They were easily interchangeable, the first from the last, but most of the time this only occurred at doctor appointments. The nurse would slide open the door and announce, “John Timothy?” and Tim would get up, knowing who she meant. He’d gotten so used to being called by his last name first and his first name last, that he no longer bothered correcting people. Even though he lacked the creative ability to think this on his own, the names acted as different aliases he could reveal to different people. Not that he went around introducing himself as ‘John,’ but more metaphorically speaking, he could be one way to some and another to others, but the bulk always in question was this thing called Tim that existed not independently, but only within the fluttering impressions of others.