Tag: Education

No Regrets

Daily writing prompt
Describe a risk you took that you do not regret.
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There are a few I could use for this prompt. Mostly things that I have talked about at length in other prompts. I am at work right now and have a ton of things going on, so I will be brief today. You won’t have to dig far back to find more details, I don’t think.

Was getting married a risk? Do people see marriage as a risk? What about proposing? I ask because my gut tells me that will be a common topic of discussion today, but for me it is not. Getting married was not something I saw as a risk, it was something I saw as destiny. I wanted it so bad that I never saw it as something to be nervous about. It was something I couldn’t not do, know what I mean? It’s been almost 15 years since we said, “I do” to each other and it’s still far and away the best thing I have done. I could never claim it was a risk. Nothing could be further from the truth.

So what do I write about then? It has to be my college experience. Or should I say experiences. I started college in the Fall of 1989 as a music student with a focus in sound recording. I dropped out after the Fall 1991 semester. That was a risk. I still view that as much one huge failure in my life. It turned out to be the right move, but it’s still a massive fail.

In October 1992 I went to a tech school in Boston that doesn’t exist anymore and did a one year program studying sound recording. I graduated with excellent grades but struggled to find work afterwards. Going to that school probably counts as a risk, but it’s a low risk. I didn’t have much of a shot at success. Not due to the school, but due to my personality. On some level I probably knew all along that I was just stalling to keep the real world at bay for a year. I ended up doing warehouse work and being pretty miserable.

In the Fall of 1997 I went back to school. That was the biggest risk. I had a job. I was doing poorly but sort of getting by. Going back to school full time at the age of 26 was a tough choice but I was hopeful that it would pay off. It took a while to graduate, including changing schools once, but I did and I got a job and I started a career that I like and then I met a girl on myspace and she was amazing and you know the rest based on what I wrote a few paragraphs back.

So stopping what passed for my life in my mid-20’s and starting over was a major risk for me, but it is one that I don’t regret at all. I am very happy with the way things turned out.

Growth

Daily writing prompt
Describe a decision you made in the past that helped you learn or grow.
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You want one? How about I give you two? Maybe even two and a half? I’m crazy like that. Also, the stuff that I give you today also happen to be things that I’ve written about in daily prompts very recently so… yeah. Repetition is good for growth and shit. I don’t know, whatever.

First, we travel back in time to the 20th century. The early 1990’s saw a certain tall red head dropping out of college. A dumb ass move, for sure, but at the time it was the only move that made sense to me. A job followed, then a year in a tech school, followed by a failure to get a job in that field, followed by a crap job in a warehouse. That’s when we get to the point of the decision that helped me learn and grow. I was making like $8.00/hour working in a retail chain’s warehouse as the guy in charge of customer returns and I just got fed up and decided to give college another try. This time I wouldn’t be a music major, this time I would take classes that might actually lead to a job someday. Going back to school was the big decision, but a secondary decision was to rig my classes so that I started from as close to the lowest level math subject that my new school would allow me to take. My primary hang up the first time through college was my shitty math skills, and the second time around I was going to major in a study that leaned heavily on math. I put myself into the lowest level course I could and basically started from scratch. It totally paid off. By the time I was through the mathematical pipeline I was acing high level courses and it felt great.

The second growth worthy decision happened on May 20, 2008. Jen and I were in the little postage stamp sized back yard at the duplex we were renting, cooking dinner on our gas grill. I reached a point where I just couldn’t stand waiting anymore and I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. She said yes. Best. Decision. Ever. That lead to me learning how to be a husband, learning how to be a better human, learning how to be an adult, learning how to be a step father, learning how to be really happy, and basically learning how to be me at my best. Like I said, best decision ever.

The extra bonus decision is the choice to pursue weight loss surgery. I don’t know how much actual learning and growing have come from it. That’s probably a question for future Rob to ponder. It’s been two years (almost) but I will need more time to pass before I can pin down exactly what the differences are, apart from the number on the scale of course. That and the sizes on my clothes.

So there you go, folks. Two plus answers to the question of the day. No surprises here. Hope you all have a good Wednesday, unless you are reading this at some point in the future, in which case here’s hoping you’re having a good whatever weekday it happens to be on your timeline. Good day.

Epic Fail

Daily writing prompt
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
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I finished high school in June of 1989 and started college that September. I was a music major with an emphasis in sound recording technology. Basically, that was music crossed with electrical engineering. The core course work included two semesters of calculus and one of physics. Therein lied my problem.

Coming out of high school, my math skills were flat out awful. I was unprepared for college level classes which meant I was unable to pass calculus, and given that calculus is the foundation of a lot of physics, I was hosed there too. There was more to it than that. I was also just not in a place mentally where I could handle school anymore. I needed a break.

All of that lead to me dropping out of college. I couldn’t do it at that time. Academically or emotionally. That was my failure. College, the first time around.

I followed that experience with a job, and then a tech school and a certification in a field where I was unable to get a job, which was followed by a shitty job in a warehouse for garbage money. When I couldn’t take it any more I went back to school.

All of that is what lead to my eventual success. I majored in computer science. Another field that required a strong math background. I went into it knowing that I had to strengthen my basic skills. I told my first academic advisor that I was going to start at the lowest math course available. I had taken a placement test that said I could start a little further along. I said no and started at the bottom. I then studied my ass off at each level. By the time I was hitting my upper level computer science courses I had aced three semesters of calculus and two semesters of physics.

Success, babie. Take that, failure. Suck my awesome grades.

After graduation I got a job in the field. Not the best job. Not a development position. I figured I’d worm my way into a development position, but then never did. I stayed in client services and moved into management. I’m still there.

Bad Advice

Daily writing prompt
What advice would you give to your teenage self?
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This is a repeat question, isn’t it? It feels familiar. Was it maybe something I saw on Threads? I’ll answer it without bitching about it. I just wonder if my answer will be different than before.

Advice to my teenage self… there are a lot of things, most of which I know my teenage self would ignore.

First, stop being afraid of everyone. No one gives a shit about whatever it is you are worried about. There are worse things than being embarrassed about stupid things. Get over it.

Second, you’re in high school. There is going to be a magical moment, that you won’t even be aware of, when all of the things you stress about and think are immensely important stop mattering to you at all. You will realize that all of your fears and worries are totally meaningless. Strangely, this magical unobservable moment coincides precisely with your high school graduation. Years down the line you will realize it happened, but before it happens just relax. None of it matters.

Third, I know you love music. I know you love playing the guitar and playing the saxophone and playing with the band and writing music and recording demoes and all of that wonderful stuff. I know you want to be a music major. I know you’re not going to take my advice here, but majoring in music is the waste of time and energy that you already know it will be. It’s okay. You will continue to play as much as you can well into middle age (and counting). There are other things you can focus on as a career path. You know that Basic programming class you took in high school? Hint hint, dude. If you aren’t ready for that yet (you will be, in about eight years) then might I suggest a field that has always fascinated the shit out of you while also intimidating you to no end. Astronomy.

You need to do something in school before you jump on that bandwagon though. Your math skills are crap. You have the ability to do it all, you just need to improve your foundation. Talk to your academic advisor and tell them you need to start from Algebra and work your way through every level of math courses. You can and you will do it and you will learn a ton and you will have excellent grades. You just need to start over. Once you rebuild the math foundation you’ll eat the science courses for breakfast. I promise. Physics, Astronomy, it’s all there for the taking. Computer science too. On that one I know from personal experience. You can do it, even though I know for a fact you don’t believe me.

Forth, stop drinking Coca~Cola by the gross. Drink water instead. Coke is the ground floor of a weight problem that is going to spiral out of control and will require scary surgery to straighten out. I promise. If you can get off of that road then you should do everything you can to do it. Your health will thank you.

Fifth, be patient. Her name is Jennifer. You’ll see a photo of her wearing a fun hat that will be utterly adorable. She’s out there and you’ll meet her. Just be patient. She’s totally worth the wait.

Bunnies Do Not Lay Eggs

I was just informed that due to Easter many people seem to believe that bunnies actually lay eggs. Allow me to take this opportunity to inform the universe that bunnies are mammals and therefore they do not, in fact, lay eggs. There is definitive proof of this so don’t go telling me I need to do more research or whatever the fuck the flat earth morons say when they are shown proof and don’t want to accept it.

Bunnies do not lay eggs.

QED.

Stephen Stills… Is There a Reason?

I’ve been really in the mood to listen to Stephen Stills over the last few days. I gave the Manassas album a spin for the first time yesterday. I like most of it, but there are a bunch of country songs that just make me want to stop listening to any music ever and bury my head in the sand and never come out again. Urgh. I don’t like country music. I blame Hillman for those (though I have no evidence to back that up).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXM3d0M1Uxg

Earlier today I was trying to figure out why I had the sudden Stills interest. Well, he’s a guitar hero for sure, and a ridiculously great singer, and a fantastic songwriter… but is that why?

Then it hit me. The reason is “For What it’s Worth”. Is that the first rock and roll protest song? It might be. People say that, but I have yet to hear every single rock and roll song ever written so who can say for sure. It doesn’t matter though. On Friday the United States comes to an end when that fascist piece of shit is inaugurated. We’re going to need people to stand up to him in whatever way they can. We’re going to need people like Stephen Stills.