American Dream versus blah blah blah

In May of 1996 I graduated from Holyoke Community College with an associate’s degree in Science. I have never used that degree to find myself meaningful employment but yet I still treasure it as one of the most enlightening experiences of my life.

As I highlight in Cowboy in the City, I came to my adult years as a pretty naive, suburban chick. My ideals and morals were shaped by a conservative upbringing that left me constricted in view. Thank goodness for education! Sitting in classrooms, participating in discussions led by the motivated and progressive professors of HCC challenged me to open my mind. Slowly, new ways of seeing things came into focus. Most importantly, I realized that the large problems in the world have been around forever and will never be solved with quick judgments and clichés.This piece was the opening to a term paper I wrote for Urban Sociology, a course that teaches how cities are formed and an overview of the of the socio-economic layering that results. It's where I learned the concept of vertical disintegration I quote in "Cowboy." It's also where I developed the bitter taste for corporate politics that soon ruled our lives. The characters in "Cowboy" have to deal with their small local ambulance company being bought by a large international corporation who forces them to merge with their heated city rivals. I learned it and then I lived it. In keeping with good form, then I wrote about it!

What is most special to me about this piece though, was the comments the professor wrote on it when he corrected it, "Did you make this up or take it from some source? If the first, well done, if the latter, you should have given the author credit!"Wow, can you believe it; I wrote something so good he didn't even believe it was mine!