Anyone who knows me knows that I do things in public that bring attention to myself - but oddly enough, I am not a big "ME ME ME" guy. I sing karaoke - not to impress drunk people in bars, but because I enjoy singing, and I am decent enough at it that I don't cause people to take cigarette breaks outside, like some of the "singers" at our local establishment do. I host and perform at Comedy shows, because I like to make people laugh, and I do a relatively decent job at it, but I don't do a Gallagher-esque thing where I smash watermelons, and I don't curse every other word. I do it because I have interesting takes on things that some people have never thought of, and most of the time they're pretty funny. Example: Why wasn't Elin Woods charged with a hate crime? She beat a black man with a club in a Southern state. I'm just saying....
I posted the other day on Facebook that I was awarded a scholarship from the New York State Society of Medical Assistants. For those unaware, I went back to school last year at our local Business and Technical Institute to learn a new career after getting out of the financial field , which I did for 20 years. I learned how to be a Medical Assistant, which I am now doing as a paid employee at a really nice doctor's office. As part of my year long study, I was able to apply for some scholarships, and the one I was awarded is only given to one Medical Assistant student in the state of New York each year. It's a $500 award, and although that may not seem like a lot to some people, that is now $500 I don't have to pay back on my student loan! That's huge to me!
The reason I won, I was told, was because of my essay. I have decided to share it with you. My title was "Don't Water Dead Flowers". Read and enjoy.
“Don’t Water Dead Flowers”
In an economy such as we are in at present, it is of utmost importance not to waste financial resources. Any waste of a dollar becomes that much harder to overcome, and even more difficult to justify.
The decision to grant financial assistance to deserving students must also be looked at in this manner. While all students should be commended for furthering their education, those who take their effort seriously and maximize their potential are well worth any investment made in them, monetarily, or otherwise. This is my story.
I am a 39 year old husband and father of two stepsons, ages 12 and 8, and a daughter, age 5. After twenty years in the financial industry, I was given notice that the industry did not have the wherewithal to continue my employment. I certainly am not the first person to be laid off, but my wife and children were in effect laid off as well. My wife was a recent graduate of Ridley-Lowell Business & Technical Institute in the Internet Technology program, and recommended the school to me.
My mother (previously) and my sister (currently) are or were hospital employees, specifically Emergency Room Technicians. Being able to use their experience in combination with my courses at the school allow me to excel in the Medical Assistant program. I am carrying a 4.0 GPA through three semesters, and I started and oversee the current Peer Tutoring program at the school so that others may enhance their learning. In another few weeks as I write this, my journey at school will be over, and I will be a Medical Assistant. It is my intention to take and pass the CMA exam at the earliest convenience, become a Certified Medical Assistant, and quite possibly in time, return to the school to become a teacher in the Medical Assistant program, while being an active member of the AAMA and NYSSMA.
If granted this or any other scholarship such as the Maxine Williams Scholarship that I have also applied for, I will apply it directly to my financial obligations to the school.
Rest assured, by awarding me this scholarship, you will not be watering dead flowers. You will be nurturing the growth of a sapling into a steady tree with branches of knowledge to share someday.
Well, that was it. That's a $500 essay. I thought it was OK when I wrote it, but I really didn't think I would win - and I didn't know that they only awarded one, so excuse me while I pat myself on the back....OK done. I don't do that too much, because I learned a lesson a long time ago - "A pat on the back is 6 inches away from a kick in the ass."
Comments welcome as always - here or on Facebook.
awesome!
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