Tuesday, November 27, 2007

The Second Of My Greatest Gifts.

Since we are coming up on the Gifting Season. I wanted to talk about my next best ever gift. And privelege. This is dedicated to my Mom and Dad.
When I started to blog, at the behest of a friend, Most of the people I came across belonged to a webring that was following the book: The Artist's Way' by Julia Cameron. All about finding and following your bliss in creative writing. What I found interesting, was, that all of the lessons were very like all the studies in the Literature curricula I had in college. Composition, expression and rhetoric. The book was a sort of college course for about $20.00, I found it almost equal to what my Dad paid around $10,000.00 for. Well, when I asked Dad, that's what he told me. It very well could have been more. Tuition fees were less back then. Although that price covered my complete four years. Isn't that something? The fees now are just too ridiculus. How and where are our new leaders going to be coming from. Actually, with the extra majors and minors. I think I was just this side of being a career student. I had put in 6 years.
However, What I want to write about, is what I consider to be the greatest gift I ever received. Outside the gift of LIFE, that is, from my parents.
That is the great privilege of a College Education. Both my parents had wanted that for themselves. But, the whole world fell apart at that time. So, it didn't happen for them. I wanted it too. Because they had shown me how much better life would be. And there were things I wanted to know and things I wanted to do.
My counselor in high school told me I shouldn't even try. It would just be waste if my time and my Dad's money! You great twit sir, (well I didn't really say THAT. I thought it.) And you are supposed to be a friend of my parents! Instead, I replied, "I beg your parden, no sir, I am going to college". You know, I passed all the entrance tests just fine too.
Years later, Mr. Neasham apologized to me. He had became a counselor at the Jr. College I first attended. And he just had to check my records. He was much chagrined to see good my grades were. When he apologized, I just gave him a distainful look. I knew I would make it. I was smarter then anyone up there gave me credit for. I was shy and had a somewhat self esteem thing, Which I overcame. They insisted on comparing me to my older brother. (Not his fault.) That is a story I will tell later. And I inherited my Parents natural hunger and thirst for learning. I also pick up an occaisional bit of wisdom here and there along the way. When I get real lucky. The quest for wisdom is a life time search.

2 comments:

LauraHinNJ said...

I agree that the love for learning is the greatest of gifts.

Lots of kids take a college education for granted these days. The prices that parents have to pay are just ridiculous, too!

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

I can see that you have a great gift for learning, as they say, an inquiring mind! Good for you!