|
— From SUCCEED Magazine, Fall 2000 To BeFrom Bars to BooksWhat do you do when you find yourself without a job or career — and because you have little education and no training, few prospects for either? Oh, and by the way, you're recovering from multiple brain tumor surgeries... In 1986, that's exactly the situation I found > myself in. I was a former bartender, construction worker, and truck driver recovering from months of hospitalization and six operations. Years before, despite parents who valued education, I decided beer was more important than books. Not surprisingly, that choice helped me flunk out of Queensborough Community College. Upon my hospital release, there I was — physically disabled, unemployed, and unemployable. What did I do? First of all, because I had lost everything during months of hospitalization, I gratefully accepted my retired parents' offer to live with them in Florida while I recuperated and sorted out my life. Thanks to the encouragement and support from family, counselors, and friends, I started my life all over again. I enrolled at St. Petersburg junior College, St. Petersburg, FL, and began to explore my options. Returning to college, this time unhampered by frequent hangovers and touting nearly two decades of life experience behind me, I soon realized that getting an education could be a wonder-filled journey. But what to study? My first time in college, everything bored me — this time around it all seemed so captivating!
I became more and more intrigued with books and the lessons therein, and eventually decided to concentrate my efforts on the history of science — the subject I found most fascinating. Learning about things like humanity's realization that the Earth was round and Einstein's theory of relativity, made me feel like a kid in an intellectual candy store. My new passion for learning also spilled over into a passion to help others. I needed to repay what I considered a personal debt of gratitude, so I spent much of my free time helping people with disabilities. By the time I graduated in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in history from the University of South Florida, I had accumulated a dozen awards and scholarships, including "Outstanding Graduate" and "Outstanding Senior." Thanks to these and other accolades, I was awarded a full fellowship to study for a Ph.D. at the University of Florida (UF). Because brain tumors have a nasty habit of reoccurring, these continual new beginnings were interrupted by periodic examinations and tests. Much to my relief, I continued to receive good reports. It seemed nothing could stop me on my way to receiving a Ph.D. in the history of science. After the first few weeks at UF, however, I realized that as interesting as reading about Einstein and Galileo might be, something was missing. I felt unfulfilled. My sister suggested that because I enjoyed the time I spent helping others, perhaps it made more sense for me to focus on my volunteer interests and figure out how I could capitalize on those experiences. I again changed my course of study and switched to a graduate program in rehabilitation counseling. Upon completing my master's degree, I received another fellowship to pursue a Ph.D. in the field of rehabilitation counseling at the University of Iowa. DISSERTATION DIVERSION Despite pinpointing a professional area of endeavor, the fact that I'd set my sights on attaining a Ph.D. meant I had to write a dissertation, a statistical, booklength, original research paper. When it comes to dissertations, university faculty frown on creative writing. In other words, even the best written dissertations read like computer manuals. To counterbalance these academic writing demands, and for the sheer pleasure of it, I began writing essays, non-fiction, and even a short story or two. Friends had always mentioned they enjoyed the letters I wrote, but for years my energy went into required writing for school. After reading several articles about writing, however, I decided to give it a try. I'll never forget my first published article. Opening up an issue of Personal Transformation magazine and seeing my byline, I felt like an infatuated 14-year-old. Just as that first scholarship encouraged me to apply for others, that first article encouraged me to continue writing while completing my Ph.D. Since that first publication two years ago, my work has appeared in Chicken Soup for the Single's Soul, CAREERS & the disABLED magazine, and a number of other health-related publications. This fall, one of my stories will appear in an anthology about fortitude. MYSTERIOUS BLESSINGS Throughout these successes, I have continued to help people with disabilities. Helping others reminds me to be grateful for all I have been so very fortunate to experience. Today, as a certified rehabilitation counselor on the brink of completing my dissertation for a Ph.D., I continue to write, work as a consultant, and teach part-time at the University of Iowa. Einstein once observed that the most beautiful encounter was "The Mysterious." Although it remains a mystery why I developed a brain tumor, it seems that it's the best thing that ever happened to me.
© 2009 Bill Asenjo |