Tuesday, November 22, 2005

That road...the one less traveled by...

...Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference
Robert Frost
A bitch often thinks about my choices and where my life has gone because of them. This bitch has few regrets…life is good. But a bitch took that other road a long time ago...

Long ago, when a bitch was a wee bitch, my life was an emotional mess. My sister was off to college in Boston. A bitch was proud of her, but also depressed that she would be so far away. Having given little thought to the future, a bitch just thought about making it through each day one day at a time. High school sucked, my social life was non-existent, my brother was living in residential care away from home and my mother was indulging in her third...or was it her fourth…emotional meltdown.

Before she headed off to Boston a bitch’s sister gave this bitch a letter. A college in Great Barrington Massachusetts had sent it to her and she thought a bitch should look at it. We did some research on the college, Simon’s Rock College, and decided that this was my out. We both knew that my ass needed to go away…home wasn’t home anymore and it was time to get to work on my future. So, a bitch sent off an application and tucked hope into my back pocket.

When this bitch was accepted it blew my mind. A wee bitch wasn’t exactly intellectually confident…shocking, but true. Why would they accept me? Simon’s Rock College is a progressive liberal arts school specifically designed for high school aged students who want to skip their remaining years and go straight to college. Was that this bitch?

Yes, it was.

Most of my friends don’t know that a bitch went to college a year early. It wasn’t a huge academic achievement…a bitch had taken a lot of extra hours and had the credits to graduate early. And then there is the wonderkin thing…so why aren’t you a doctor or something? Weren’t people like you supposed to be published at 25 and internationally famous by 30?

Simon’s Rock does boast some famous alums…the Coen brothers and that Move-On guy, Eli Pariser. And a bitch, of course! Ha!

This bitch did one year at Simon’s Rock, but my transfer to a school closer to Boston didn’t dilute the impact going to Simon’s Rock made on my life.

Some young people run away from home…this bitch went to college. My year at The Rock was one of academic exploration, ridiculous rebellion and militant bullshit. And a bitch is thankful for the experience…the refuge and the renewed excitement for life that year gave me.

Of all the gifts my sister has given me, a direct mail piece from Simon’s Rock was the greatest one of all. Oh, and that push…that nudge that was exactly what my ass needed.

Thank you, C-Money, for that gift and the life it has led to.

So, this Thanksgiving a bitch has decided to confess and be thankful.
This bitch took the road less traveled by…
And that made all the fucking difference.

3 comments:

Crystal-Lynn said...

Oh, I'm getting misty and I have to go to a lunch affair. That was the sweetest post, Shark-Fu.

Kim said...

Your sister sounds like such a blessing. You are a very lucky women ABB. She of course is a lucky gal as well to have you!

I could have skipped my Senior year of high school, but my mother refused to let me. The whole "it will be the best year of your life" nonsense. How sad is it that my family thought that one year was going to be the best year of my life?

I ended up a suicidal, drunken mess. With mono. It was seriously NOT the best year of my life. Thank god.

That one year changed the course of my life. It has ended up being a very good life, but that year changed everything.

Here's to 365 days of change.

monkey said...

your post has my eyes on the brink of an emotional flood. my sister means the world to me, and i am reminded in so many ways of that each and every day, but especially after reading your kind words.
thank you for reminding us to give thanks.

*and on the celebratory note (okay, i suppose any drinking occasion will do) of glasses clanking, i am wondering if you are not a fan of 'grey goose' vodka...

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