It took me forever to finish college. That was the marked-out destination on the game board after high school as far as I knew. But life had gotten in the way and I could cross it off for forever.<\/p>\n
In my late twenties I finally got back into a university and began to finish off the required classes. One of the classes was US government or something in that area. The professor was a hundred years old as far as I could tell, but he was so enthusiastic. He loved what he was teaching.<\/p>\n
One class, he told us how he started college. He\u2019d gotten in by mail, but he didn\u2019t know how he\u2019d manage to go to college and live.<\/p>\n
So he got a suitcase and took\u2014a bus? A train? to the university. He had no money and no place to live, but he was going to go to college. He knew he needed a job first thing. His plan? he walked along the streets of the college and stopped at every business asking for work.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t get a job that first day. He still had no money. And night came.<\/p>\n
The was a park nearby with a couple apricot trees. He took his suitcase to the park and ate the apricots that had fallen from the tree. He slept in the park.<\/p>\n
Next day he got up and kept looking for work. He hit the jackpot on the third day with a job and a place to live that came with it. He said he was pretty tired of those apricots.<\/p>\n
Hell of a story. He went all the way through to be a professor.<\/p>\n
Society was different a hundred years ago.<\/p>\n
This last year I\u2019ve been giving my daughter what I call \u201cIndependence training.\u201d She\u2019s 12 now. I want her to be able to face whatever life brings her and get what she needs.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve taught her how to do laundry and how to make her bed.<\/p>\n
Her favorite skill in the independence category is making ramen soup. She has determined her preferred ratio of flavor packet and water, and makes her own lunch frequently.<\/p>\n
What with laundry and ramen soup, I told her she is well on her way to being prepared for college.<\/p>\n
College is different in the 21st century. But challenges are always with us. I should probably think about what professor suitcase had and if it can be taught.<\/p>\n
Some things change, but some things are always the same. How hungry am I?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It took me forever to finish college. That was the marked-out destination on the game board after high school as far as I knew. But life had gotten in the way and I could cross it off for forever. In … Continue reading