Education

Working as a retail clerk I have had more than one long bearded person make derogatory comments about higher education and even have had co-workers make fun of my education, because I studied the arts. Yes, it does make me mad because, all that I have had to go through, to achieve mine and the importance that holds. Am I broke in massive debt never to retire, working less than ideal jobs? The answer is a loud Yes! But that does not diminish what I have worked so hard for and cherish and value so much.

Looking back thinking about my personal interactions with education, which is awfully painful and confusing. I am one of those learners, for better or worse, whose mind just functions differently. I myself almost went in another direction. My early education was not easy nor kind. For whatever reasons formal education did not come easily. I can remember as far back as second and third grades having to attend special group lessons during recess to learn to read. By the time I got to fifth grade I was spending every afternoon, evening and sometimes nights at a tutors house just to get homework done. That entire year I never got to go outside and play just non stop study. Looking back I often wonder if more was going on at home than was revealed to me. Despite all the misery and all the time trapped inside, which was painful for a child who has all their life, relished being in nature, I still failed fifth grade. The following school year I was sent to live with cousins because it was thought that their school was better and could be of benefit to my learning. When I finally returned home for sixth grade my parents divorced, further complicating an already mixed up mind. I have few memories of any importance of sixth grade outside of the typical bully but by the time I got to seventh It was a nightmare. I can still remember the public school teacher telling my mother that there was nothing they could do for me. I was failing everything. A decision was made to remove me from school. I was placed in a special school that believed in erasing everything that had been taught and starting over from the beginning. No matter the grade level or age we all recited our ABC's together every morning. Disastrously halfway through the school year the owners took the money and ran. So here I was, educationally and emotionally completely destroyed. Two boarding schools later and three attempts at ninth grade I quit, my spirit was broken, a total failure. I ended up working on construction sites, landscaping, washing dishes, waiting tables etc. I was, and am still to this day ashamed of myself for not graduating high school. Deep down inside I knew I could do better intellectually. That feeling combined with guilt and shame drove me to get my GED and I landed at an art school, and then more failure. Now I must say this is a years-long process through trial,error, and hard work. Eventually I ended up at a local community college taking remedial courses and applied to night school at The University of Georgia. I never heard back from them and the deadline to start classes was very close. I called admissions and explained to them that I had not heard anything, I was told that my application would be rushed through and that I would hear back soon. A few days later I received an acceptance letter and I was accepted into the regular university and not just the night school. I never looked back. I earned my BFA from The University of Georgia and Later an MFA from Utah State University and an MDMFA from Full Sail University. 

 I have and currently work in my fair share of “blue collar” jobs from construction to airport ramp and everything in between.  Do not underestimate the determination and dedication required to achieve an undergraduate or graduate degree. The determination to see a long term goal from beginning to end over the course of years is what this is.

My diplomas from USU and UGA. I seem to have lost the one from Full Sail.