Old Soul, Young Heart

I just think it is so amazing the things that education can do. (I always try to make a bold statement up front as to catch my reader's interest. Haha.) With that being said, I never thought I'd be as interested in disabilities as I am. For a long time I think I was afraid of people with disabilities, actually. All I can attribute that fear to is being ignorant. I didn't understand why people were the way they were and I didn't know how to react to them; it made me uncomfortable. I think this is, unfortunately, a normal reaction. Another reaction is to make fun of someone with a disability, which is also sort of a coping mechanism for not really understanding. (Which is why we make fun of other cultures, races, sexualities, etc). And finally, we ignore those with disabilities because we don't know what to do. And that's why I love learning. It demystifies things that I don't know about and opens up possibilities that I would've never thought for myse...

Have you graduated from college and ever had someone say something snarky to you about it when you've said or done something stupid on accident? For example: You: [Said or did something stupid on accident.] Other Person: "And you went to college for what?" or "So much for that college education!" My dad did this to me today and it hurt my feelings for three reasons: 1) Graduating from college is a big deal (especially in my family, where my grandma and I are the only ones to have ever done so), but it doesn't automatically make you the master of the universe and smart about everything. 2) The thing that happened had nothing to do with being "smart" and had nothing to do with anything I would ever learn in college. 3) We were on the way to my induction into the honor society for education and it just seemed really inappropriate. I was sad (and on the verge of tears), but then I got to thinking about why those sorts of comments are made. Pe...

I hate that I'm doubting my skills and abilities and gifts while in this graduate program. I really thought I was over it after last semester, but it just keeps creeping up. I meet with my advisor, I meet with my professor, I get good grades, I enjoy the work, but I still feel absolutely unqualified compared to my peers. And that's a terrible feeling. I know it's not a competition, but it sort of is in certain ways. Right now, anyway. Lately my feelings of inadequacy have been so bad that I feel like I don't even belong in this program--like it was a huge mistake because I have no experience (true!) and don't even know if I'll really even be good at it (true!). After a year, it's still a hunch that I'll love it. After learning about these offices the past few weeks I can't help but feel like I was jipped a little bit in my undergraduate. I mean, I didn't get THE best grades possible but there were so many opportunities that I didn't know ab...

The more education you have, the less likely you are to be certain about knowledge.