Smart Enough

I was recently asked what courses I was teaching at my new job at UAA and my reply was “Oh I’m not smart enough to be a faculty member; I am just an admin in the college.” As I reflect back on this moment in time I wonder what in the world possessed me to give this answer. Why I would use such self-defeating words towards myself and the person I was talking to is beyond me.

I am smart enough and I am more than ‘just an admin’, I am the glue that holds the department together. I set the stage for the success of our students and our faculty. The work I do takes an immense amount of organizational skills to complete the multitude of tasks in a timely manner, meeting all the deadlines with ease might I add. The training required to wade through all the different computer databases to retrieve copious amounts of information is numerous and ever changing. I am not just – JUST – I am so much more!

I am smart enough and could be that faculty member but that is not the path where my choices guided my life. There are many factors that contributed to where I am today. The generation in which I was born, my community and family culture, and our financial status all had a huge influence on the choices I made, and the directions that I turned when I became a young woman.

When I was a young person I remember hearing on many occasions that college was a waste of time, that it was just a piece of paper. Then when I was first attending college it was a popular comment among my extended family that I was simply there to get my MRS. Degree. To them it was merely a small, off the cuff comment that somehow had a huge impact on my life.

Was that all I was destined to be, a Mrs.?

I thought so at the time and decided that spending money on a college education, a piece of paper was not feasible so I turned to career training instead and at a young age became a Mrs. I was soon blessed with two sons and I stayed at home with them when they were babies. I would not trade those five years for anything, not even all the riches in the world.

Does it take brains and smarts to be a good Mrs. and to be a great Mom? YES! Is it admirable and courageous to be a full time Mom? YES! Raising your children, being a true Mom to them, is the most important job you will ever claim title to on your resume, your curriculum vitae.

So why would I say such words as I did that evening? I truly do not know, but what I do know is I regret saying those words and hope to never again hear self-destructive words in my ears from my own lips.

We are all smart! We are all exceptional! We are all mighty! We only have to find our hearts goal. Is an education important? Yes! Whether this education is in the form of career training, apprenticeship or college coursework, all of these come in the form of a piece of paper and open multiple doors and numerous opportunities.

And throughout all my choices in life I am exactly where I was meant to be and in fact I am very pleased with who I am and where my life has lead me.

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