Accreditation vs Ability

 

I am a high school graduate with some college under my belt (no pun intended). I was going to Montclair State University in New Jersey (where I met my mentor Professor Lisa Sargese). I went to school thinking I wanted to become a high school teacher. I always wanted to study a specific field that catered to who I am. Education made sense. I am a natural educator. And I had phenomenal teachers and would have loved to fill their shoes. I would even think of how I would teach things I was learning in high school. When I knew something, I was able to teach it through various methods and techniques. I attribute that to my martial arts training and teaching.

To be a high school teacher you had to choose a subject matter to major in, and I loved history so chose that. I went to college as a senior in high school then a full year after that, and then a second year. But then circumstances in my life changed and I chose to focus on opening my own business. It was a choice that I MADE that was best for ME. And I couldn't have been happier with that decision. One great thing about me not continuing at that particular time was the fact that I found out what I was going to school for was NOT what I wanted to do. That I was settling, being safe, and would later regret and be unhappy.

So many people tell me I am stupid for not going back. FOR THE RECORD: I want to back to school, and I WILL finish. Isn't that enough? Unless you know who I am, when I say I want something and I am going to do it, I do it and I get it. But the average person, the majority of people, will say "oh well the longer you're out, the harder it is," or "people say they will but then they don't" etc. etc. etc. Well guess what: I am not like "other people." When the time is right, and I properly calculate the important things in my life, knowing how I myself perform in my life, will I make the right decisions for ME.

But that's not always the case and I can't change people's way of thinking. I am picking up a business in it's second year, and need to make sure that I build it to where I want it to be in order to go back to school. I also want to accomplish certain things in my martial arts training that are in alignment with my school goals. Are my priorities screwed up? Maybe to you, maybe to other people, but you're not supposed to do things because of what others think. You do things because they feel right and they feel right for YOU.

I want to go to school for psychology, something I've studied since I was 15 and enjoy and do well in. And there is a lieu of things I can do with it (and will). Not going to share all my ideas and goals, I'll save it for another blog. But I don't want to stop there. I want to then go for my Masters in Counseling and Human Services. Yet again, a lieu of other opportunities I have plans in store for. Believe me, if I could I would get several degrees. But I don't want them all. So the next question is, what are you waiting for? Well I have my reasons and that is reason enough.

But what DOES frustrate me is that I know SOOOOOO many people who have their degrees and do NOTHING with them or ended up doing something totally different. I know a person who has an accounting degree and does something totally different. I know someone with a business degree and works in a propane shop. I know someone with a degree in early childhood education and works in retail for ten years. I also know about a dozen people with degree, a few with their masters, and all on unemployment.

My other frustration is I know SOOOOO many people who have such awesome abilities in several different fields. Yet they cannot pursue any of it because they don't have a piece of paper saying they are "certified" or "licensed" or have a degree in it. And I can't stand that. People who cannot get jobs because they "lack experience" yet no one will GIVE them experience. I think job interviews should be like auditions. Don't tell me what you can do or have done, show me what you can do right NOW.

I had trainers, yoga teachers, and Zumba instructors teach at my school. They bring these resumes and I tell them to put it away. I don't care where you taught or were certified. I told them to do a class with me as the student. Sometimes I called in a few friends to take the class with me. Show me what you got! That is how I base whether or not you can do what you can do. And that is a BIG pet peeve of mine. People with AMAZING talents and abilities who can do great things but are limited due to lack of accreditation, and then the people with all these degrees, double masters and doctorates, and they can't find their way out of a paper bag! Now I am not saying ALL of them are like that, don't misinterpret. But I know so many situations where that is the case.

Honestly, anything I am certified in I learned how to do and did damn well before I got any certifications. It's always been that way. I was a Black Belt before I got certified. I was a trainer before I was licensed. I am a hypnotist before the certification. And if I don't say so myself, my abilities far surpass my ambition sometimes. It is not our abilities that define who we are, it is our choices. So yes, I will go back to school. In the meantime, I am going to do what I am doing, and do what's right for ME. I don't need people pressuring me or telling me its the right thing to do and go back now because they think that's the case. Go ahead, say it is procrastination or avoidance, over analyze it however you want. But we all know what's best for ourselves when we look deep inside, and timing is everything. Calculate your risks, don't just take them.

Yours in service,
ANDREW TRENTO