The Sweatshirt Game

I play this little "game" with myself on an almost nightly basis. I don't know what else to call it, so I'm calling it the "sweatshirt game". Depending on my mood, I choose a sweatshirt from one of my alma maters or my current institution to wear. Most of the time, I choose the JMU sweatshirt. On bad days, I choose the UNC Charlotte one, because I spent 6 years there and sometimes need to remember that I really DO know what I'm doing. Also, that was a really fabulous part of my life-most of my 20s. Great friends. Great learning. People think I'm crazy when I say this, but I would do my doc program over again tomorrow if someone would let me. It was that amazing of an experience for me.

When I'm feeling REALLY nostalgic, or REALLY clueless, I choose my Furman sweatshirt. It reminds me of finding that first spark of passion that still drives me today. It reminds me how I learned to learn. To dig for answers. To be self-reliant.

Based on my day today, Tonight, I couldn't choose. So, I decided to wear a Furman sweatshirt and a JMU hat.

Today I worked with an amazing kindergartener who has me completely at a loss. I'm trying everything I know to do with her and only seeing tiny glimpses of progress. I was LITERALLY sweating after 20 minutes. I haven't figured her out yet, so I needed to remember that I know how to learn (thanks, Furman) and that I'm capable of being a leader, and a "detective" when it's called for (hence the JMU hat).

Maybe I define myself by my educational background and career too much, but it's such a huge part of who I am. From 20 to 30, I literally became a different person. I changed in ways I didn't know I would, and all of that is because of education. Maybe I should buy some UNC Charlotte socks so I can wear all three at once....hmmmm....