Almost Forty and (Mostly) Fearless

White Plains High School (WPHS) wasn't my favorite part of life, but it was an important piece of the puzzle.  My class is turning 40 this year (happy birthday to the class of 1996!).  It's made a bunch of us think about the good, the bad and the ugly.

Here's what WPHS did for me:  Between the good, the bad and the ugly, it fully prepared me for life out in the world.  I am (mostly) fearless, and I have been since graduation.  The overwhelming message from almost all of the faculty and staff at WPHS was simple but beautiful (and wise...and kind...):  You can try for anything you want to do, just be willing to put forth the effort.

Math and innate creativity (encouraged by the rigorous arts at WPHS and SUNY Potsdam and the legendary MPA program at Seattle University along the way) have been the keys to a whole series of unique opportunities and amazing experiences in my life.  Here are a few examples:

• Being included in a college concert (isn't it fun that music is a language of math?) as a child.
• Being included in the Hurley's Nightclub Album 2000 during my time at SUNY Potsdam.
• Moving across the country (where I knew precisely no one...) to work with AmeriCorps*VISTA, Seattle Education Access, and Refugee Women's Alliance.
• Budgeting for the MTA for a few years which led to a guided tour of a tunnel boring machine sixteen stories below Manhattan.
• Becoming a Lion and participating in an amazing number of volunteer projects over the past four years.
• Including a sculpture I made during my time at SUNY Potsdam in the Bicentennial Time Capsule (we'll see it resurface in 2066!).
• Designing my own dashboards in Oracle Business Intelligence.
• And the best of all, my current job!  I wanted to be in nonprofit administration when I was 22, but I lacked the experience necessary to arrive.  Now I'm learning at the feet of the Jedi Master of Data (Beth Bellardini).  It is never, ever boring!

In nine days, I join the ranks of most of my WPHS '96ers and turn forty.  I am grateful for the blessings of my life.

Be well, fellow Introverts!