An Education

Changing an entire lifestyle can take an instant or years. My change from Pius Itinerant, bad boy about town, was telescoped into a period of a few weeks after a violent episode with a jealous boyfriend and his .38. But as I said, change can come quickly. Within a few weeks, I was a college student thanks to a recommendation from a teacher at the school I was attending to complete the High School Equivalency.

That’s right, I went from being a fugitive high school expellee, living a hodgepodge existence, to a college student in a few fast-paced weeks of being on the run from the gun. OK, I am simplifying the process, being that I’ve written several times about those events in the blog, but that is, in essence, what happened.

To make this all work financially, I took a day job taking care of an elderly couple. I’d rush from their home to my little woodcarving studio, change, feed my cat, Clancy, and run to Boston University’s Metropolitan College for evening courses. I financed my coursework semester by semester from my earnings and some GI Bill money. Yes, I rapidly began to develop into a responsible individual unrecognizable to many of my previous associates.

And it was some of those associates who had the most difficulty with the shift in my behavior. Dave was one. He’d found humor in my ragtag existence. Being a kind friend when I needed a helping hand. But as soon as I started the transformation to an exam-taking, term paper writing college student, that all changed. He had a degree from Brandeis and had been supported through his education with family money and scholarships. My once friend looked down on my scrappy, put-together job during the day and going to school at night, and declared it as ” not a real way to get an education.” His attitude implied that there was something irregular about me and my efforts. It didn’t exactly adhere to the party line of how he had gotten an education. He seemed almost insulted by my ragtag efforts. Soon the friendship frayed, and then we drifted apart.

When I started at the Metropolitan College, I was already in my twenties. Met has a reputation as being a second, or even third, chance for people. Lots of my classmates were others whose education had been delayed. I was at home with my peers. The professors, administrators, and other students were supportive of the sometimes Herculean efforts that were underway. There was electricity in the air! Students were motivated.

So what’s something my past self would be proud of? Simple. How we made it through the tough times and got a degree, went to grad school, made a career, and lived a fulfilling life. It’s like the Buddha said, “No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”

What’s something you’ve done that your past self would be proud of?

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