I don’t want to imply that I have not been proud of my daughter before (hence, “newly”), but I realized today that I’m feeling proud of her for a new reason: she’s vastly broadened her life and career options.
Despite being plenty bright and intelligent, she’s long struggled in school. In fact, kindergarten was the last time she had excelled. She had a wonderful kindergarten teacher who encouraged her to explore as a learner, and that was an environment in which she thrived. Once she encountered the more rigid expectations of grade school, her interest faded and a seemingly endless struggle ensued, until she finally graduated from high school (by the skin of her teeth).
After a year away from school in which she realized how much money it actually takes to live the way she’s used to, she started in a community college degree program in Veterinary Technology. And everything changed because she was excited about what she was learning. She studied hard, went to professors for extra help, became part of a study group with experienced students, and found herself getting good grades.
But it’s not the good grades that I’m most proud of, I now realize. It’s all the possibilities that she’s opened up for herself by learning how to learn. People who learn well can do just about anything. They can respond to economic adversity by acquiring new skills. They can pursue their dreams by learning to do what’s needed to achieve them. In short, their lives become an expanding web of possibilities. And that’s the exciting kind of life I’d wish for anyone to have.
So, becoming a good student isn’t about the GPA. It’s about opening the door to amazing opportunities. That’s why I’m such a proud father today!
Perfect clip for me to post and share, since I am now a Wiki Community Manager, which is another name for online community organizer. Not only is this 
I started this blog just to get started blogging. I had wanted to blog for years, but one thing after another held me back, not the least of which was fear that I would not keep up with it. Blogs that aren’t updated regularly aren’t really blogs, IMHO. I didn’t want to set something up that I could not commit to and write in frequently.
Sorry I have not been posting much here recently. I’ve plunged into my new job, and that includes blogging for my company internally. I’ve lost track of how many posts I have created there, but the last thing I really want to do at the moment is blog here, too, at the end of a very long day.
I just accepted a new job! I was not looking (really!) but when the job description landed in my email I was stunned. I have never before seen a job description so perfectly tailored to me. Point by point, as I went through it I kept thinking, “yeah, I’ve done that, yeah, I have experience with that, yeah, I want to do that…”
Wish I had read this good advice from Valeria Maltoni’s 
Remember when you were young and thought you got to decide what you would do when you grew up?
