Shantell here.So unlike Chantel and many of my other brilliant and achieving friends, I do not have a PhD. But, I have a couple of degrees hanging on the wall, and I’ve faced some pretty interesting education-related shall we say ‘issues’ of my own.
That brings us to the story of Mr. Smith (not his real name). You see, I graduated with my first bachelor’s degree three months after I turned 21 (I finished fast because of a bunch of high school college credits I had). The week I was graduating I ran into Mr. Smith who was the father of one of my high school friends and visiting our college campus.
The conversation went like this:
Mr. S: Hi there young lady.
Me: Hi Mr. Smith.
Mr. S: How are you doing?
Me: Great, I’m getting ready to graduate!
Mr. S, looking directly at my left hand: Oh, well you’ve failed.
Me: What?
Mr. S: Well you were supposed to get married and you didn’t.
Me: Sir, I came here to get an education and I got one.
(end scene, roll credits)
Yes, this really happened. And perhaps you've experienced something similar?
While I do believe whole-heartedly in education, and that Mr. Smith was just a victim of small-town thinking, I can’t help but wonder sometimes if he was right somehow. Maybe I was supposed to find someone in college the first time I went, or maybe my chance was a few years later when I went back to school. This idea of ‘missing’ a ideal window of opportunity (like college where most are single) at times can pick at me. At the same time, I know for sure I didn’t meet the right guy in college. In fact, I’m 90 percent sure most days that I haven’t met the right guy yet. That other 10 percent is mostly replaying relationships that should of, or could of worked, but didn’t. But, that’s another blog. :)
I’d like to hear from you...do any of you feel like you've missed a window of opportunity somewhere along the way?