Either this picture is old, or he hasn't aged one day since I was in high school...
The first semester of my junior year in high school, I took an athletic training class. I loved the teacher so much that I took his anatomy class the second semester. And his 2-hour Med Prep class both semesters senior year.
Seriously, I loved Wiley Kendle as a teacher. It has been eight years since I have been in one of his classes, but I still think about him regularly, partly because he has this great, acerbic sense of humor, and partly because he repeatedly gave a bit of advice most high school teachers would not.
Every so often, Mr. Kendall would impress upon our young minds that four-year college is not for everyone. That’s not to say he wasn’t supporting education beyond high school–he absolutely was. He would stress the importance of finding what works best for you, whether that be a trade school, some sort of apprenticeship, or just working for a couple years to figure your life out.
College is stressed so much is high school that many teenagers forget to really experience their adolescence because they are so focused on getting into university and learning some more. But–and this is a shock–not all kids are the same! Which means not all kids will flourish in a university setting after high school.
Of course, the whole time Wiley Kendle was telling me this, I was sitting in the front row (like the little over-achiever I was) thinking, pshhh….whatever, I am totally going to a four-year university. So I did. And you know what? It wasn’t the right place for me at the time. Sure, I had a great time and met a lot of wonderful people and did well, but in retrospect, I can see that I should have listened more carefully to the wise words of Mr. Kendall.
(For the record: I am not opposed to a traditional college education, and am now at a place in my life where university would be a great learning environment for me. When I left high school, however, there were other options that were perhaps better than university.)
So, when people ask me what they should study in college if they want to become a writer, I tell them to study what they are passionate about. But it goes much further than that. Each individual person needs to decide what they are passionate about and then pursue that in any way she can. Maybe that means she doesn’t go to a traditional college, but instead heads off to a cosmetology academy or massage therapy school. Possibly she trades in a diploma for an apprenticeship with a diesel mechanic. Or, maybe she doesn’t yet know at the age of 18 what she wants to do, so she finds any job she can that will help her pay the bills until she does figure it out.
When deciding what to do with your life, evaluate what is important to you and what you love. Maybe university really is the best place for you to go right out of high school. If so, good luck! If not, don’t let others make you feel like you are less than you are because of that choice. Take control of your own life and do what will make you happy.
There is nothing wrong with not wanting to go to college. (Disclaimer: there is a problem if you want to leech off your parents for eternity without ever stepping out on your own. Not wanting to go to college is one thing; being lazy is something else entirely.) And when it comes to being a writer, college doesn’t mean a damn thing.
You know what is important though? Life experience. No amount of learning in a classroom will teach you the things you will learn when you are out in the real world. The experiences we have help to mold us and help define who we are. We learn and grow more through real life than we ever will in a classroom. So, get any education you can. I believe we should never stop learning. But don’t forget to go live a little on the way.
11 Comments
Wa-wa-wait….did I read a bad word? I must have read it wrong or it must have been a typo–I thought I saw the word “damn” in there somewhere.
Seriously though, he was right. I know that if I had gone to college right after graduation I would have gone for something I would have eventually regretted. Now that I have worked for 6 years and have had 2 kids, I know exactly what I want to do and it just happens to work best for my family too.
You must not read the blog very carefully, ’cause that is definitely not the first one that has gotten by. in fact, there is an entire post dedicated to cussing in YA literature.
I am glad that you have figured out what you want! That’s so much better than just going for what you think everyone else wants of you.
Yeah, I admit, I don’t get on that often. I try really hard to remember but forget until I get on FB (actually on my home CPU) and see your posts. I think I should set myself a weekly reminder to come here and read…maybe Friday afternoons at work, I think that would be a great time.
Rachel
I am now a retired person and am enjoying myself tremendously. Glad to hear that after 34 years as a teacher and athletic trainer someone actually listened and remembered something that I said. Not that anyone would actually do what a teacher suggests, but remembers after the fact, that the teacher really had the student’s best interest at heart.
Hope things are well with you and your family.
E-mail me if you want I am now able to tell things as they really are, or at least as they seem to me.
Thank you for the nice thoughts.
WileyKendle
Wow! I didn’t think you would actually see this, but I am glad you did. So yeah, I wasn’t so great at taking the advice when you were giving it, but I definitely understand the value of what you were trying to teach us now. Thank you so much for trying so hard to teach us all; I definitely learned a lot from you.
Wiley, I don’t know you but I salute you. Advice piece that I got is like that tandem part to your great words. Do whatever you want, just make sure you do it well. All pieced together, it’s just about all you need to know regarding academics and professions. Sweet.
You always leave the best comments! “Do whatever you want, just make sure you do it well” shall be added to my list of good quotes to use.
Forgive my broken english. I spent all morning translating Spanish, and my brain is struggling with the gear-shift.
You should have just wrote it in Spanish. Of course, then most of us wouldn’t be able to read it without a translator, but whatever. It would have been fun!
I might have been able to read it if it were in spanish! Anyway, that’s awesome that he found you. How did he find you by the way?
His stepdaughter is one of my friends on Facebook. I imagine that when she saw the posting she forwarded it to him.