White bread learns a little sumthin' sumthin'
The inspiration for this blog dates back over 6 years ago when I took my first job at a day treatment center in rural Pennsylvania. It was my first job since graduating from Cornell University and, even though I downplayed my schooling, I was cocky as ever. I barely survived 6 months and am still thankful that I had a compelling reason to move to Colorado Springs (but we’ll get to that later).
Working at the center taught me three things which I remember every day:
1) When you’re white and middle-class, culture is assumed. Everyone out there goes to college, wants to have 2.1 kids, saves for years as a down payment on their education, and dreams of living in the “nice” part of town, right? WRONG!
2) Most of the world is different, but the same as you. This paradox becomes evident whenever you visit at foreign country. When I began working with children that had no idea who their Daddy was, were missing teeth due to decay at the tender age of 8, but still loved affection (albeit communicated in a much different way), this became evident.
3) Connecting quickly is not a given but a developed skill. Try becoming chummy with hormone-driven minorities when you were raised in a community with more cows than people and you will see what I mean.
Working at the center taught me three things which I remember every day:
1) When you’re white and middle-class, culture is assumed. Everyone out there goes to college, wants to have 2.1 kids, saves for years as a down payment on their education, and dreams of living in the “nice” part of town, right? WRONG!
2) Most of the world is different, but the same as you. This paradox becomes evident whenever you visit at foreign country. When I began working with children that had no idea who their Daddy was, were missing teeth due to decay at the tender age of 8, but still loved affection (albeit communicated in a much different way), this became evident.
3) Connecting quickly is not a given but a developed skill. Try becoming chummy with hormone-driven minorities when you were raised in a community with more cows than people and you will see what I mean.
Since my first job, I have learned a LOT. I will graduate in May 2014 with a Master’s in Counseling and have worked with hundreds of families doing addictions therapy, individual counseling, marriage counseling, case management, and other fun things like spend one-on-one time with convicted murderers. Don’t worry, I’m okay! Better than okay, these people have taught me a lot which I hope to pass on to you.
Bottom line, read this blog if the following topics interest you:
· How to “thin slice” people accurately and predict what interests them
· The most accurate predictor of connectivity between people
· How facebook and other social media could literally save your life
· The most toxic thing you can do to a relationship and…
· How to be as comfortable talking to a Business Owner as a common criminal
Please contact me if you have any questions or comments. Please make active use of the “comments” section as I appreciate feedback!
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