What I Learned In High School

I am rarely in the company of my nieces. In their presence, I bombard them with advice. Whether they need or want the guidance, I am not sure. I have never bothered to ask. Although the nieces that I speak of did not grow up with their fathers in the household, I believe they grew up loved and actually feeling loved, with no shortage of advice. Honestly, I do not think this flood of information is for them, it is for me. For that 12, 16, 20 and 25-year-old part of me that I did not leave behind. I serve up guidance that I needed at those ages. Of course, I did not know something was amiss until those ages had long passed.

At age 12, my reading was not up to par and I had some serious math struggles. I just wish someone would have said... "School is so important, do your very best.", "How are you doing in school?" and "Do you need help with any of your subjects?" In ordinary circumstances, a 12-year-old should receive guidance from their parents, but when your mother works a full-time job and she only has a seventh-grade education and your father works 3/4 jobs, your circumstances are not ordinary. Consequently, I was usually left to my own mischievousness.

At the age of 15 or 16, I made the honor roll for the first, and only, time. As a result of hard work, I finally did it! My parents were happy for
in Fashion Merchandising, I accepted an Assistant Manager position in a retail store. There is only one word to describe that experience, horrid! Nonetheless, I enjoyed working with a couple of the ladies and it was an opportunity to explore what I did not want to do for the rest of my life. Within a little under two years, I purchased a new vehicle, transferred my position to Atlanta, GA and applied to F.I.T. Out of the three, registration for enrollment to attend F.I.T. was the only superb decision. Now in "LOVE", I was accepted into the Fashion Institute of Technology. I chose love and the relationship lasted a little under seven