My Quest to Become Brilliant!
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way” quote from Martin Luther King Jr.
I was hooked on Coca-Cola. Everyday at eight-thirty am, right after dropping my children at school, I’d swing by my connivence store to purchase a 32 oz. Big Gulp. For twenty years that was my routine. I’d go to the counter with the ridiculous amount of soda and the cashier who worked there for over twenty years would say, “Anything else?”. Everyday I responded, “NO, that’s it.”
In my late forties I developed a persistent mouth pain. My dentist and an oral surgeon could not diagnose my issue. I was very uncomfortable and kept seeking help. A friend suggested a doctor with an ….unusual specialty. He was a pathologist, someone who examines tissues to understand diseases. He ran some tests and asked me about my diet. I mentioned my Coke habit and he dropped a bombshell, “Madam, I can tell who drank soda just by looking at their brain tissue. It’s damaging, you’re frying your brain cells!.” I looked up at him and that was it, I quit cold turkey. No more Coca-Cola, I wanted to preserve my brain.
Going back to school at 45 was a big deal for me. My daughter, Tracy, who was attending DePaul University, encouraged me to give it a shot. She even took on the role of guidance counselor, picking out classes she thought I’d enjoy. I loved it, but I felt out of my league surrounded by younger smarter classmates. I confided to a new acquaintance, and she gave me some advice.
“My daughter isn’t a good student either.” Lauren told me as we sat on park benches watching our dogs play. “I am sending her to a psychologist who works with color.”
I made an appointment with Alice, the psychologist. Like the pathologist, her approach was unconventional. She prescribed CDs of nature sounds, instructing me to listen for 30 minutes daily as a form of meditation to; “quiet my soul.” She also recommended an optometrist, Debbie, who suggested blue-tinted glasses to calm me during tests. Debbie referred me to Leslie Marcus, who worked with NASA on focusing techniques involving “connecting the dots.” That summer I spent hours connecting dots on reims of paper.
Attending DePaul University was a departure from the University of Oklahoma, where I went but did not graduate, after high school. In Oklahoma our exams were multiple choice, A, B, C , D or none of the above. But at DePaul our exams focused on critical thinking. Critical thinking was a struggle because my parents taught me to listen not question. But my summer training with the three women flipped a switch. Suddenly, everything I learned became a story. My history classes became intriguing, like gossip. I was learning how to connect life’s dots.
It took me four years to graduate with a major in comparative religion and I graduated with high honors. This degree took me to my next decade. I became a docent for the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) and the Chicago History Museum (CHM). I had to attend classes for nine months to become a docent at the CAF. These classes taught me how to appreciate the buildings that I walked by and never thought about. I was able to give truthful, informative tours about the Historic and Modern buildings located in the LOOP of Chicago.
The Chicago History Museum gave me a broader education. Every six months the main exhibition area changed. Therefore, twice a year I attended lectures and had to do readings on the subjects in order to give cohesive tours.
Both of these experiences opened my eyes to the world surrounding me. Because it is one thing to learn about things but another thing to be able to teach and share my knowledge.
Discovering that I do have a voice has empowered me. I find that I enjoy telling stories. I can tell them with a beginning, middle and end, hoping they are cohesive.
My next blog is about Maya Angelou.