Challenges

Every day brings a new one, mostly from the offspring.

DD#2 starts college next week. She is 20 years old. When she started high school, she had a really terrible time, unable to fit in, impatient with classes, unsure if she had enough brains to compete with her peers. She switched to an alternative, home-study program, did very well, and was even able to ace the biology class she had to take at the local community college to get her high school diploma at age 17. Since she did not know what she wanted to do with her life, she saw no need to rush into college, which shows a rare bit of wisdom. She worked. Lots of different jobs.

Our local community college is very, very good, and I am confident that she will do well. It won't be easy, as she will also be working full-time, but she can do it.

I was really lucky to have gone through the California public school system when I did (before "relevance" education came into vogue). I got a challenging, first-rate education and loved it. I also loved my college years, even though I worked 2 jobs, married, and was expecting my third child when I discovered that Superwoman had found her limits. I quit school, had more children, worked.

I have no regrets.

I consider my education the greatest gift and look back on those years with affection and not a little nostalgia. I have no patience with people who consider education an entitlement or a burden or a joke or something to be pissed away. I also have no patience with a system that allows -- no, encourages -- young men and women to borrow so much money that they finish college with a debt that could have bought a house. There is something seriously wrong here.

End of soapbox.