You’ve answered a lot of your own questions – traditional schooling isn’t for everyone and if you are interested in it, you have to seek help if that’s what you need to ‘catch up’ – like tutors – each university has free tutors as well and I also want to mention that a lot of professors are aware of everyone’s different learning styles and especially if you give ‘em a heads up about some of your difficulties, most will work with you to help you grasp the material. I don’t think being talkative has much to do with doing well in school, btw.