“There are no negatives in life, only challenges to overcome that will make you stronger.”
― Eric R. Bates
When I was in college pursuing a double major in early childhood education and special education, a particular teacher made it his life's purpose to make each student's life a living hell. The program was already hectic and strenuous, but he took it up a notch by demanding perfection on each one of his assignments. This man would take out a full point for a punctuation error, and my A papers quickly turned into Ds. I am very picky when it comes to my work because I put a lot of time and effort into them. But for him, content wasn't enough, he wanted the whole package, from punctuations to citations, and margins. He wanted information that he couldn't find with a simple google search. Imagine having to work on a 200 pages portfolio that had to be turned in to the pickiest grader! He would have me stay at the school until it was dark to triple check every single work before it was turned it. I even found myself doing research and proofreading homework while I was on a birthday trip in Punta Cana with my mom. There was no such thing as a "break" when it came to his work. Your work is your craft , he would say, you must be confident in your craft.
His teachings stayed with me and taught me more than just the milestones in child development and how to write assessments. He taught me professionalism. He pushed me to always go above the minimum. Anything he required, I did more. I set out standards for myself that were higher than his so I knew that my work would always be impeccable. I brought those standards with me in the workplace, and quickly started expecting the same from my employees. As a result, no work is ever half done, and I am almost always pleased with the results. I didn't realize then the lessons that he was trying to teach me, but I'm grateful for the ethics that he taught me beyond what was mandatory in the classroom. Back then, all I cared about were my grades,but I walked out of his classes with more than just a great GPA, I learned valuable lessons that have been the reasons behind my success in my professional life.
Thank you Dr. Shik!
Laura
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After all Dr Shik wasn’t so bad!Lol.Your story makes me think about that phrase “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” I was a freshman in college when I got pregnant. I gave up on my dreams to take care of my daughter. I went back to school but couldn’t reach as far as I wanted to because my family was growing. After three kids and two houses, I though it was time to do something for me, so idecided to go back to school. I must say it’s challenging!Sleeplesness nights,tiredness,exchange of a tv show for studying time…It’s my third semester since I went back, I’m always miserable during the semester but at the end I’m always happy about not giving up.Seeing my grades and being closer to my goals motivate me to register each semester!
That’s awesome Sophia! I’m so glad you decided to go back, even if your goals take time to reach what matters is that you don’t give up. Do as little as you can but just keep moving. I know you can do this! Mommies are superheroes!