My blog n'at

Wednesday I finished my final for one class, have one more class (which started thursday) left for this year and I started thinking about how things have turned out since I first started college in 1994. Wait, no I haven’t been in college since 1994, that’s just when I first enrolled.

When I started college I went basically because that’s what you did after graduation. I had no idea what career I wanted but I knew that I loved radio and TV production. My family threw a wrench into that idea when I was berated about how I could never make money in that field, would rush me past any college radio station and said I should go to school for anything BUT communications. I ended up with general studies.

My 2 years at Pitt/Titusville were interesting. I didn’t realize how sheltered I was in Erie until I was living with people from Pittsburgh and Philly. I was there to have a good time and if I received an education that was fine. Though 18 years of hearing what your brother did and how you should do the same tends to wear thin so I took the opposite direction. I signed up for theater and got involved in a few other clubs but I still had no idea as to what I was going to do. Good lord I did love to entertain for people though. My adviser, Mr. Henderson, was pretty much useless for career advise unless it was math related. Plus I swear the guy was way too happy all of the time.

My grades at UPT were decent. I knew I was smart but I just didn’t care by the time I left. It’s like Peter from Office Space. I didn’t have the motivation. If I screwed up I’d have 8 people yelling at me about it.

I am thankful though for the people I met there and things I learned outside of the classroom. My old RA Greg introduced me computers ( look how that panned out ), I met my wife there and I made great friends which I still have today. In May of 96 I moved back to Erie to find a job because the money well for tuition had run dry and I needed to pay the bills.

I moved to Pittsburgh in 1998 and in 1999 gave community college a shot but CCAC was a joke. My first 4 classes I could have taught myself and in some cases corrected the teacher frequently. Why waste the money? I read books and self taught myself everything I know for the next 7 years. In the fall of 2006 I decided that I would give it one more shot and enrolled at a local school. What a godsend this place was. Financial Aid department was excellent in getting my tuition setup. My advisers have always been a phone call or email away and get back to me within 24 hours.

Over the past year I’ve carried an “A” average which I take with great pride and it’s not due to the classes being simple but now I actually give a shit. I know what I want to do and I’m in a degree program for media design. I pay for school out of my pocket, I study because I want to and I push myself because this is for me and not what someone else wants. So here we are, almost 14 years after I first started college and guess what, I’m studying media and have my own online radio show. Ironic isnt it