Education is a linchpin in my household. Both my wife and I place great value in betterment through education. My wife has her Master’s Degree, and I am within three courses of obtaining mine. We have very firm expectations that our son will attend school after college, but we will encourage him to attend any kind of schooling he desires (college, trade school, etc.). Growing-up it was always instilled that education was the key to our future. Of course, I wasn’t always the best or most motivated student.

Thinking about this makes me realize how much life has changed since high school. I remember back then spending a lot of time trying to do as little as possible. During my sophomore year I had truancy issues and a GPA to prove it. In my junior and senior years I became slightly more responsible, meaning I showed-up to school more, and I also spent more energy investment in obtaining good grades. An interesting phenomenon occurred toward graduation time in which I was given the award for top student from the English Department. This clearly came as a surprise to me as I didn't even know what an outline was until half way through my junior year. I suppose I just had a flare for things literary.

College wasn't something I had thought a lot about. At least, I hadn't really considered it for immediately after high school. At that time I sort of cast college into the vague "intermediate future" of 3-5 years hence. Approximately one week before the fall quarter started at CSUB I decided I’d give college a try. I was lucky enough to have a phone number for a brilliant department chair who whole heartedly assisted me in getting in. Then something magical happened. Where high school was social and transient, college was focused and tangible. I became diligent in labor despite being very poor and constantly on the verge of homelessness. I managed to graduate in just over three years and with a very decent GPA.

My wife was similar to me in her free spiritedness, but she developed focus quicker than I. In high school she began taking college courses, graduated early, and began her blitz through education. In just a few years she went from high school student to Master’s wielding woman. To highlight her iron will at one point she was working three jobs, attending graduate school, and was pregnant. I was there to encourage her when she became discouraged, and to study by her side through the thickest of quarters, but it was her will and determination that earned her diploma. Her tenacity in school impressed me beyond words and she earned more respect than I have ever given to anyone else.

As I near completion of my graduate degree I cannot help but think of the impact this accomplishment will have on my son. He will grow-up in a household with two educated parents. He will have parents that value hard work, commitment, determination, willpower, and pursuit of passionate activities. We will also have an understanding that his future belongs to him and he does not have to value the things that we do. We were maverick high school youths who became fanatic college students, but our hearts still beat with youthful rebellion. We will try to appreciate his epicurean whims as well as his stoic endeavors. In the end, the best thing that education can do for this family is provide a better platform from which to springboard into the future.