Change is not just for parking meters

This past weekend I had some new windows installed in my home. This may not seem momentous at first glance, but for me it was. For the last three years, my bedroom has had single-pane windows which allowed heat to escape in copious amounts in the winter, during the summer they allowed heat to enter, and year-round they enabled my wife and I to hear each and every dog in our neighborhood express their disappointment (or excitement) at being left outside. Now, finally, we can sleep a full night (or in my case - day) without being woken up by the garbageman coming past our house, or the neighbor's kid's band practicing. As pleased as these revelations make me feel, I can't help but think that over three years ago, I never would have been excited to have new windows. A new video game, sure, but new windows? Never.


My windows were not quite this bad, but almost.

I figure I'm so happy about these new windows because my priorities in life have shifted. I no longer get excited about new video games, but I am excited about new windows. Priorities in our lives constantly change and are modified by our situations and where we are in life. Four years ago, I played video games in my free time so they were important to me. Now, I am a homeowner attending school full-time while working full-time and I no longer have time for video games. New windows, however, I can now fully appreciate, and I do.

This revelation has made me realize that changing, or more specifically - accepting of change within my life, is one of the steps on the road to being a "grown-up". Having our desires/wants/and needs all come into alignment (more or less) is a real sign of maturation as a person. Sure, everyone's likes and dislikes modify and morph over time. But moving from liking chicken nuggets to liking a Bic Mac is totally different from shifting deriving happiness from video games to deriving happiness from new windows.

Things we were indifferent to, such as what sort of windows are in the room where we sleep, are suddenly important. At the same time, things that were urgently important to us, such as seeing all the new blockbusters in the movie theater, fall by the wayside.

Time moves on - the world changes, and as we go through life and this world, items of import to our lives also change. We change as we get older - we are no longer the same person as when we started this journey. As a result, things important to us also change.

I am no longer the same person who married my wife fifteen years ago. Back then I was madly in love with her, had just gotten a job at a fast-food restaurant, had no plans of going back to school, we were renting an apartment and back then all this was good enough for me. Flash forward to today: I am working at an IT security firm gaining valuable experience while I complete my college degrees. I am also now a home owner who is still madly in love with his wife. I am an almost completely different person from who my wife married.

But in a way, we all are different people from who we were fifteen, ten, or even five years ago. We are all doppelgangers of sorts. A totally different person, yet somehow the same, from who we once were in the past. Priorities shift. New jobs. Re-locations and moving. New friends and family members enter our lives. Others leave.

We all change all the time. How we deal with it reflects on how strong we are as a person. Some must be pulled kicking and screaming, while some never are able to make the leap at all and live in the past. Most are able to adapt after a fashion, however, and learn to cope with change in their lives. The good ones are the ones who never notice it, but are able to accept it on a subconscious level. Strong people are able to direct their own lives through change. The exceptional ones are those lucky few who can bring change to the world through the power of their dreams.


Visionary.

I am looking forward to a future full of change. I never envisioned having a college degree, yet here I am - a year and eight months away from completing TWO degrees. I never thought I would be able to afford a home, yet here I am a full fledged home-mortgage payer of three years. It is amazing what can happen in your life when you are able to focus on what you need to change in your life to improve it, and enact that change.

Growing up, my mom said I was always a daydreamer with my head in the clouds. I like to think I still have my head in the clouds, but now it is looking forward to a better future. One that I can bring about myself.

Yes, everything changes. Even me. The future is looking real bright through these new windows I have.

School is education for life

Education is not something I take for granted any more. I am very thankful to be in college and continuing my education. I see now that learning is not just a one-and-done sort of thing, it is ongoing. Education is for life.

So many kids just want to be done with school, and get out - never look back. I know. I was one of those kids. I disliked high-school in California, and when I moved to Maryland for my senior year, I pretty much hated it. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that my then-future-wife was attending the same school, I may have ended up dropping out. But I stuck with it and squeaked through - just above the graduation requirements.

Looking back on it now, I feel bad for some of my teachers. Especially my English teacher. I had to take a year of English in my senior year, but by the second half of the year, I stopped caring. I did just enough to pass the class, and I slept through more than half of them. In the front row of the class. And I snored. I'll bet she hated me and was glad to see me go. I would not be surprised to find out she gave me a passing grade JUST so she would not have me back in her class again the following year.



Just think of all the drool I left on that desk.

So I graduated. I wore my giant blue robe and my square blue hat. Walked across the stage and got my diploma. My family was there. My then-future-wife was there. And I remember being so happy that I was done with learning.

What an idiot I was.

Learning is for life.

So here I am in college almost 20 years after I graduated from high-school. Still learning, still being educated. One of the differences is that now I am paying to attend school. One good thing is that I am doing the online school thing. It makes things so much easier. With my work schedule, it is hard to schedule classes that I could attend regularly. Plus, I get to learn at my own pace, which has always been advantageous for me because of the the way I learn best.

I am majoring in Computer Science. When I was planning out my degree, I discovered that universities have their education down to a science. The first two years in attendance, you take crap classes that are supposed to 'round out' your education. Then in the last two years, half is taken up with classes for your major, and the other half is taken up with electives. Basically, you are spending nearly 25% of your education on random classes that really have nothing to do with your degree or your future career. What a scam.

I looked hard at the available classes and decided I wanted to maximize my time spent at college and get the most out of my money spent. So, for my 'elective' classes, I am taking a selection of classes which will get me a second degree in Information Systems Management as well as a certificate in Project Management for IT Professionals. So basically, I am in effect scamming the university out of a "free" second degree! All those useless elective classes are going to be a whole second degree instead. It is going to be tough, but I know I can do it.



Double degree? Double the money!

I realize that my entire educational experience up to this point has been working towards helping me obtain my college degrees. My entire life has been full of education from one school or another. I attended two different elementary schools, one junior-high school, two different high-schools, one college, and now one university. Each one has been a unique experience and I have memories from all of them that I treasure and cherish.

I learned a great deal in elementary school, junior-high school, high school, college, and now a university. I learned a great deal of knowledge that various teachers have poured into my head. However, the most valuable stuff I learned was not actively taught by any teacher or any professor.

The most valuable stuff I learned were all the intangibles that teachers and professors may not have realized they were teaching at the time...

Showing up on time - I was expected to be in class and in my seat at a specific time - this has taught me to be on time for work and other engagements, and that showing up late is unacceptable.

Completing assignments on time - If an assignment was due on a specific date, I was expected to turn it in on that date - this has taught me to complete my tasks at work promptly and to finish any projects on time.

No cheating - All schoolwork and tests were to be completed without cheating or plagiarizing - this has taught me to be honest and not to "cheat" in life by stealing or using other illegal/unethical methods.

Showing respect for others - I was expected to show respect for my fellow students as well as the teachers and school staff - this has taught me to show respect for everyone I work with or encounter throughout my day.

Having pride in your work - All my schoolwork was to be completed to the best of my abilities, and if I did well in school I should celebrate it - this has taught me to be proud of the work I accomplish, and to work hard and do the best job I can while working on it.

So, as you can see, some of the most valuable learning I received at school were lessons that directly translate to living in the adult world. Knowledge of the French bourgeoisie and their direct effects on the French revolution as well as how close France came to becoming a Socialist state at that time, have no direct application on my life. But, all those other skills listed above, have proven invaluable to me. They are some of the most important things I learned while growing up. These skills will help me in my future careers and throughout the remainder of my life.

School was one of the two largest factors in my life that shaped me into the person I am today. I am thankful for the skills I learned there. This introspective look at how schooling has helped me throughout my entire life has led me to one inescapable conclusion.

School is education for life.