EDUCATIONAL JOURNEY

One of the prompts in Michelle Obama’s book Becoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice that I mentioned in a previous blog is “What is the last great book you read? What did you learn from it?” Although I read Educated by Tara Westover over a year ago, I would rank it as one of the best I have read recently.  She shared how in spite of a lack of formal schooling, but with her belief in reading widely on all subjects, she excelled.  It reaffirmed my strong belief in the power of education.

I grew up in a small rural community during a time when few people (especially girls) went on to higher education after high school.  Most of my friends chose to enter family businesses or get married.  My parents supported my decision to attend the state university, but they were unaware of how important it would become in my life.

Before graduating from college, I married and welcomed my first child; however, my husband and my parents supported my desire to complete my education and earn my teaching degree. During our early years of marriage, my husband and I both continued to advance our education.  Sharing household responsibilities and caring for our growing family, we pursued ways to attend educational institutes or programs to gain more advanced degrees.  I don’t think I ever anticipated how important my education would become.

Then when my husband became terminally ill in his early 40s, I was able to support the family, and my education opened new doors for me.  I was able to assume leadership roles in my school district and eventually even in national writing organizations.

Looking back on my educational journey, I never anticipated having a career, but I was fortunate that I had the opportunities to prepare myself through various educational experiences and was able to meet the challenge.