It Was Twenty Years Ago "Today"

Early today when my wife asked me to get rid of at least one box of my old curriculum materials from our soon-to-resemble-a-hoarders garage, I pivoted into excuse-land. But a few hours observing her level of selfless Labor Day activity turned my world-class procrastination into guilt. Had I known the box I was about to select would send me plunging into a rabbit hole, the rationalizations I'd have invented for my continuing lassitude would have been epic. Damn.

What important event of your life took place in late summer, 1998? I received my Graduate degree from Fordham University almost exactly twenty years ago. Going through the stuff in the box I selected was illuminating and distressing in almost equal measure. I re-read papers, looked at class notes, underlinings and annotations from dozens of articles, re-took several of the assessments. It was sometimes difficult to decide what, if anything, I wanted to keep. What mementos have you retained from any of your important educational experiences?

The longer I stayed down that rabbit hole, the further I strayed from the program. I began reflecting on the man I was from 1996-1998, the state of my marriage in those years, my then young daughter. Just a box of stuff in the garage, right?

http://reflectionsfromthebellcurve.blogspot.com/2011/09/ten-years-ago.html