...flashback TRAUMA

This morning while sorting a box of books, I stumbled upon a couple of MACHINISTS' HANDBOOKS that struck fear into my heart!... Throughout grade school I had always, Firmly said that I was NOT going to college. I was a good student, took all of the college prep classes... but was NOT going to college. I had taken some vocational courses, and Sr. year I had a co-op job as a secretary / word processor for Kodak Office - great pay, yet it made me realize in a hurry that I did not want to do this for the rest of my life! So a couple of months before graduation I decided I wanted to go to college. What for? What for? I had always enjoyed and been half way decent at art... maybe?... Mom voiced her worry at this - she didn't whole-heartedly dismiss the possibility, but she tried to discourage it "I don't want you to be frustrated for the rest of your life..." "there isn't much of a job market for artists...". So, we compromised... Computer Animation. The only school in our area with a program was RIT - $$chaching$$!! I was going to be paying the bill, and didn't see this to be possible. I found a SUNY school that had a Computer Graphics/Engineering course - MUCHO cheaper, and one of the Profs from RIT was heading the program - cool! That is, until my first day of classes... I soon discovered it was an Engineering course! - Circuit Theory / Electricity & Electronics... Mechanical Design Principals... FORTRAN (yes, I'm dating myself with that one!!)... Calculus... Computer Numeric Control... . OH, what had I gotten myself into?! One of the first books that I had to purchase was The Machiner's Handbook - SCAREY!!

Designing & Calculating (and drawing on the computer)... gears, cams, pitches, teeth,

angles, tolerances,...

Oh those charts! The formulas and calculations! The craziness of it all!!

I was determined. I was going to finish what I started, I wasn't about to quit! A few of the courses took me a couple of tries, but I did succeed. THANK heavens I was able to fit in a couple of art courses, architectural drafting and even an Interior design course to soothe my 'right brain' tendancies!

(In case any of you are wondering as to my final career path - graduated, took a job doing Computer Drafting w/ an Engineering/Architectural firm; nudged my way into their Interiors Department; they paid for me to go to back to school part-time to get an accredited Environmental Design / Interiors degree and head the Dept.; less than a year after completing my degree, I was on my way back from a job-site and involved in a bad car accident that had critical effects on my vision (something essential for doing interior design!!)... so now I work part-time for an Antique store! It has definitely been an interesting journey with many detours!!)

So, here's looking back at Freshman Year of college... and wishing all the wide-eyed kids out there the BEST of LUCK, as they start on their journeys!!!