For all of you who wonder incessantly (and I’m sure some of you do – ha!) about some of my "previous" lives I’m always talking about, here they are in "living color" as they used to say in TV Land. I’ve now (this afternoon) posted my resume as a separate page (see the tabs across the top of this page) on my blog. You will note that I’m a published author several times over, which I think I’ve neglected in the past to say, and that I’ve had a very interesting, if varied, career leading up to my professional blogging stint, as I consider it (if you will).
Enjoy reading about moi and leave a comment either here or on my "Resume" page and let me know what you think. After all – what else is Finding Direction: The Wind Vane Chronicles but a forum for intellectual queries, I ask you!?!
Cheers!
Dee
Wow! Impressive!
When I see a resume like that, it inspires me to do more with my life.
I might have been impressed, except that I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express!
You’ve done a lot!! I think what impresses me most is that you went back to law school at a time most people are considering the final years before retirement. As much as I love the challenge of graduate school, I don’t even want to think of going back again.
Dee – Impressive array of experiences.Makes my 30 year career in one company and one field seem a little mundane — but I think you mis-speak when you say this is the REAL story. A resume is a list of facts about you — But the REAL you is in the subtext and the life you have lived and we get a better glimpse of that in your blogging than in the resume.
You are Dee Most and I am honored to call you my friend
God Bless
Charlie
Greg -
Your comment about not wanting to even think about going back to graduate school reminds me of my thoughts the day I graduated from college at the University of Southern Mississippi. I started college in earnest (I only had 19 hours accumulated over 20 years, so was still a first semester freshman) when I was 37. I wanted to major in Psychology and become a Psychologist but knew I couldn’t stay in college that long because of my extremely difficult circumstances (maybe I’ll write about those one day to try to inspire others).
I floundered around one semester majoring in Social Work while taking 9 hours plus 18 hours of CLEP tests and challenging 6 hours of Journalism successfully. So I started my second semester as a second semester sophomore with 51 hours of college credit toward a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication (with everything I did listed on my resume here).
I was barely 40 when I graduated, having completed college in 2 1/2 years and nearly didn’t go to graduation because no one could come to it in my family except my then husband who berated me all of the way there on the hour long drive.
But when I put on my cap and gown, I realized I had done it and done it alone, with no help or encouragement from anyone. Except for one new friend I had made while in school, who is still my best friend to this day.
The other thing I thought that day was when I saw all of the graduate school students crossing the stage in the big coliseum to receive their hoods and diplomas. I saw a man with snow white hair receiving his doctoral degree and I remember clearly thinking, “one day I want to do that and have that be me,” although actually going to graduate school, much less law school, were the furthest things from my mind at that time.
I later divorced (none too soon after 24 long horrendous years), and was able to go to law school just four years later at age 44 with full support from Tom, even though we were not yet married then. He was behind me 100% and compared to what I’d already been through and had had to do, I thought law school was stimulating and fun more than anything else! I loved it and though I worked very, very hard, enjoyed ever second of it.
In the middle of law school Tom and I were married and my grades were the best that semester they’d been since I’d started the year and a half before. They continued to rise and I graded on to Loyola Law Review my third year.
I would strongly encourage you to go back to graduate school one of these days and to get your Ph.D.!! Strongly encourage you to do so. You can do it and do it well and tell you what – if you need any help with your dissertation, just let me know what it is and I’ll help you by editing or bouncing ideas around or whatever. You’ll be glad you did when you’ve completed it.
Go for it!! It’s not too late. The guy I saw getting his looked like he was 70 if he was a day and HE did it!
Cecil – Thank you (and you, too, Jeff) for your most kind words. You’re right in that this blog is the “real” me to a larger extent probably than any other writing I’ve ever done. This ranks right up there with journal writing, although I keep it for public consumption, so am limited in that way.
As for the “real” real me, TCS thinks that getting to meet me and spend the weekend with me and Tom was more the “real” me than my blog is and he likes THAT me, better, which is good to know! I’m the same way about him and we’ve gotten to be good friends through blogging.
As for one career path with one company for all of those years that you talked about – I admire that in a person because I couldn’t (and didn’t) have done it. I get too restless and am always looking for changes in my “calling.” Tom has worked for his company for going on 30 years now and I admire that about him. So you’re in good company, too, with what you’ve done with your life!
Brad’s Blog » How Do You Decide? // Dec 29, 2006 at 10:53 am
[...] You can visit the post at Dee’s site that I reference by clicking here. [...]
You’ve really inspired me. That little thing above this comment is called a trackback. It simply means I’ve referenced your blog in my blog today. Thanks for the thoughts and encouragement.
As Darth Vader said when Luke Sky-Walker (no relation by the way) popped out of a hole that Darth had knocked him into, “Impressive.” Especially the part about Law School being “fun” after you married Tom. He must be one heck of a guy.
Oops!
Charlie & Cecil – I accidentally wrote your name Cecil when referring to Charlie. Sorry about that.
As for Tom, Cecil – he’s in a class of his own! Biggest influence on my life by far thus far and I’ve known his 27 years now, although we’ve only been married 15.
Brad – Thanks for the link and your words on your blog today. I really appreciate them and am just happy I inspired you that much! Thanks! And good luck in graduate school! You can do it!
Dee
You life looks way different when it’s all laid out like that. Very impressive. (Not that I wasn’t impressed before.) I know about your lawyer-like activities because you’ve written about them many times. Not to diminish that, at all, but I’ve always been intrigued by your experience as a writer more than anything else.