Growing up poor in a family that lived barely paycheck to paycheck, I had little direction when I graduated high school. My mother’s primary goal for me and my four siblings was for all of us to graduate high school. I assumed this was because she had done so, only to find out later in life that she quit school after the 8th grade and went to work full time during the depression to help her family.
When I graduated, I decided that I was NOT going to live paycheck to paycheck. College was not mentioned and not an option, so I joined the Air Force to learn a skill. I clearly recall telling myself that anything that I did going forward was going to be for me and my family, and therefore I challenged myself to deliver. After returning from Vietnam, I married and went to computer school, obtaining an associate’s degree. My wife and I have done well and were blessed that our three children all graduated from college.
