Hot Coffee Coaching

I mostly hated school.
I was popular enough.
More well-liked than popular
which even as a teenager
I knew to prefer.
Popular burns too hot;
well-liked can go the distance.
And for the most part it has.
But, I struggled with the school part.
My right brain had it going on:
literature, creative writing, theater, art;
my left brain had trouble keeping up.
Even today it is truly astounding what I don’t know.
An alternative high school program
followed by an unremarkable English degree
got the education done
and I never looked back.
Until damned if coaching didn’t spark in me
a new love of learning.
It took me nearly 30 years to forget
how much I hated school,
another 10 to nurture that flame of curiosity
with workshops, certificates and TedTalks,
and nearly another 10 to decide what to study.
But, study I did.
All the way to an M.S. degree earned last Friday –
nearly 40 years after that English degree –
in Forensic Psychology.

It was wildly interesting
with just the right balance of challenge,
accomplishment, structure and creativity.
I have been asked what I am going to do
with my shiny new degree.
Maybe something; maybe nothing.
Either way: totally worth it.