Crippling self doubt! (aka starting college at 40!)

[Life Long Learning]

I don't think this is good advice for everyone.  I took breaks because I just didn't have the money to continue.  I also took breaks when life got in the way, and I couldn't concentrate on schoolwork.  I took breaks when my kids had summer vacation, because I wanted to spend more time with them.  There are lots of good reasons to take breaks.  I sometimes found that after a nice break, I was recharged and refreshed and ready to start again with renewed enthusiasm.  That's the nice thing about doing college this way - you get to fit it into your life instead of the other way around (and being chained to a particular school's academic calendar).

That's why I said if you "don't really need to take one". All of the things you listed are perfectly acceptable reasons to take a break. There is a reason that "regular" schools have breaks (winter, spring, summer, etc) but as we're adults and set our own schedules, we don't necessarily get those scheduled breaks and scheduled times to resume again.  

I'm just saying that for me, it has been hard to get back into it. I feel the whole "where do I even start?" thing all over again. 

That being said, I just took 2 hours and completed one of the newer TEEX courses and all I needed was some online accountability and now I'm at 69 credits.

MilO,

Keep us informed of your HSEM progress.  It sounds neat.

Reference: TESU - BS in Homeland Security & Emergency Management (BS.HSEM) (In Progress).