Apostol Stoyanov, 78, starts first grade in Bulgaria

Better late than never.

Last Thursday, 78-year-old Apostol Stoyanov celebrated his first day of school — ever.

The Bulgarian man joined other first-grade students at a Bulgarian school, eager to become literate in his old age.

He told state news agency BTA that distance and cost were insurmountable obstacles to education when he was young. A lifelong labourer and bachelor in the central village or Popovsti, Stoyanov said, "his biggest dream is to be literate."

Stoyanov enrolled alongside 430 Gabrovo first-graders, but will study primarily on his own. He'll attend school to take quizzes and tests, and to submit his first-ever homework assignments.

Like many of his pint-sized peers, his biggest fear is math class. The determined student already anticipates seeking additional help in that subject.