So, here I am again. Another year has passed, and another travel season is upon me.
It's late, I can't sleep and I am feeling a bit melancholy. Perhaps it's the quiet anonymity of my hotel room, or the fact that I'm moving at the end of the month. Maybe I'm just worried about bedbugs.
Whatever it is, both sleeplessness and loneliness have set in and I am in the mood to say a few things...
I know it's important to "flaunt whatcha got" but some people just need to be told: skintight denim minidresses are not professional attire. OK, maybe it is work-appropriate if it's 1996 and you're Rachel from "Friends" - otherwise, the vision of your uterus outlined in cheap jean material should not be something you subject coworkers and business associates to. EVER.
Cheetos are bad for you, no matter how you slice it. You can bake them, or use organic cheddar. They still have 20 million calories from fat and will coat your fingers in an inch-thick layer of day-glo orange "cheez" dust. Unfortunately, they are pretty damn delicious too. I must avoid these tasty morsels this Fall as they are diet Kryptonite and being able to see my feet remains of the upmost importance.
I am pretty excited to hit the "Old Dusty Trail" and talk to students about college. It's my favorite part of this job; interacting with the kids. So many people have no clue about what the next step is, or that there even is the the possiblity of a next step. I've heard more than one student tell me they "just aren't college material".
That phrase makes my skin crawl.
What does it mean, really? I mean, some people aren't well-suited to certain colleges, but that's a given. Every college has a different culture and I encourage students to find one that works for them. The problem I have with the "just not college material" blanket statement is that it's usually not something people say about themselves, but rather something they've been told about themselves. That's the rub. Someone along the way has decided to knock a kid down, really before they've even started, and demoralize them. IT MAKES ME ANGRY.
I know that not every graduating high school senior will attend college, and that's fine. Some will go into the military; some will do an apprenticeship for trades like plumbing, masonry, etc.
Some will be slinging Quarter Pounders with Cheese.
The point is, what good does it do to tell someone that? Absolutely nothing positive comes from a statement like "you're not college material", and I have tried to make it my rule to build people up whenever possible. I have little tolerance anymore for people who behave otherwise.
Lastly, I will leave you with a current favorite tune...calm, ethereal...even, dare I say it, sexy?
Wild Strawberries - Blunt
