When I was 19, I had a lot of dreams but I also wasn't in
the happiest place in my life at the time. One of my best friends passed away 6
months before Graduating high school and it devastated me. I just didn't want to
be around many people and I gave up doing a third year of Track & Field.
Although I did go back to weight training and drama, it just didn't feel right
anymore and half-assed most of the semester. I did dream of being broadcaster
because I was adamant announcing for a major sports team like the San Francisco
Giants or the San Jose Sharks. After a week in College I quit and it pissed off
many people especially my dad. I just didn't have the desire anymore.
After going
through two and half years of going to the gym, doing a couple jobs and
recovering from my broken legs, I went back to college on the encouragement of
a girlfriend at the time and just took fitness classes. I really didn't have
the dream of honing a degree someone else wanted me to have and just chose to
take classes that seemed to make me happy. I took up gymnastics, swimming,
Intro to Physical Education and Functional Fitness that including weights,
cables, running and all sorts of stuff. I loved it.
During that
time between 25-26 years young, I got to teach during my Functional Fitness
class. My coach saw me warm up with Animal Movements before class and asked me
if I could teach those movements to the class once a week and I jumped on that
like a bat out of hell. It taught me how to train not just a group of people
but people of different shapes and sizes. My coach would jump in to help out
beginners but for the most part that segment was mine. This drove me to find my
own education.
As of now
I’m certified in Massage Therapy and a certificate of completion in Superhuman
Training so to me that’s like getting a degree. The type of education I'm
teaching myself goes beyond fitness and strength training; there’s History, Mythology,
Film, Physiology, Massage Therapy, Chi Kung, Mental Techniques, Body Mechanics,
Writing and other things. I believe what I’m doing works far better for me than
sitting in a classroom filling my head with bad textbooks and boring teachers
(not the fitness ones they were awesome). I get to learn from very knowledgeable
people and some of the coolest cats in the strength world. I get to utilize my
interests and expand my horizons that’s fun, exciting and always coming up with
new ways to learn.
Why the
hell am I telling you all this? It’s because there’s more to education than a
textbook, classroom, desk and some teacher. I don’t go to an Ivy League school
or a highly academic academy but I get to be educated in ways these types of
schools can’t teach. You want to be more educated, learn what you love to do and
expand it to wherever you want to take it. You may love things that I can never
understand but we both are reaching for the same goal and that’s finding what
we love to do and create a future with it. Education is important in any
endeavor and we aught to be educated that’s according to our interests.
Learning
should be fun, exciting, interesting, the way it gets you up for the day and
you can’t wait to learn and have an adventure. Most college programs have none
of that and that’s why I left for good and started educating myself and I've
never looked back. When was the last time you got up in the morning and said
“Time to learn some awesome stuff and have a blast”? Isn't it about time to
have that feeling everyday? Have fun and learn what you can that makes you
happy. That’s the best education of all.
