Detours

Sometimes, the detours off the planned routes in life lead to the best destinations.

I was thinking this week about high school back in the early 80's.  It was my senior year. I was on the academic track and enrolled in upper level courses including Chemistry 2, Physics, and Calculus.  It became apparent around October that Calculus was not working out.  I was failing and the material just didn't make sense.  After counseling with my parents and the teacher, we decided it was best that I finish the semester and then find another course.  I was devastated.  Here I was, on track to graduate with honors and I needed higher level classes to get me there.  (By the way, I barely missed honors status, probably due to that Calculus course).

So, after dropping Calculus at the semester (which I passed by a hair, I'm proud to say), I was stuck with what to take.  My teacher recommended a computer programming course, but I chose Basics of Typing instead.  Looking back, this may have been the most beneficial choice of my entire high school career.  I can't tell you the last time I used Calculus.  I can tell you that I type almost every day.  It is a foundational skill required in almost everything I do.   And, since developing a repetitive motion disorder that affects the legibility of my writing, it is about the only way I can effectively communicate on paper.

If someone would have told me thirty-one years ago that this one choice would affect my everyday life as it has, I would have laughed.  Yet, sometimes, it is the little detours off the planned route that have the greatest impact on our lives.