Darren – How did you handle going back to school?

So, school was fun.  I dropped out when I had my injury, and I was like, “The heck with everything, I’m so pissed off.” You know, I had a sour, like, really bad attitude.  Like, “What am I going to do for work, go lick stamps?”—“Right, come on?” But after working doing different entrepreneurial ventures for a while, after the dotcom bust, Faith was like, “Darren, you obviously have a lot of energy and a lot of creativity, you’re obviously over your injury a bit.  Time to stop farting around with entrepreneurial stuff, and go back to school.” So I said, “Fine, if I’m going to go back to school, I still don’t know if I can do it, I want you to go back with me.  ” And she was in court-reporter school at the time when I had the accident, and so she’s like, “Yeah, I’m ready to go to school.”  So we went first to community college, and she was my note taker, and we took the same classes.  And, I found that we had a lot more focus than I had as a kid, when I had my injury.  So we were able to do just, like, really well.  So then I transferred back to San Diego State, finished off my bachelor’s degree.  She continued with me as a note-taker, and then they have, you know, proctors for the tests, and stuff.  So, the proctors would do the testing with me.  And, I found it, with of course Faith’s support doing the notes, it was really pretty easy.  But again, I was still so self-conscious of being in my motorized chair, that I actually did all my school in a manual chair.  And so, at San Diego State University is really hilly, and here, poor Faith lugging me around and pushing my chair around like crazy.  You know, it was a good workout for her, I guess, but at the same time she was much happier once I got over the chair thing.