Thing 22: What could have happened to you in high school that would have altered the course of your life?

Originally posted to Facebook on July 2nd, 2013. It's always an interesting experience to imagine "what if."

Thing 22: What could have happened to you in high school that would have altered the course of your life?

Principal Smith looked up from his paperwork as a light knock sounded on the frame of his office. Standing in the door was a large student with a fluffy red beard. "Hey Dom, thanks for coming." With a pointed nod, he motioned to the seat across from him.

Following the queue, I entered the room, closing the door behind me. As I sat down I gave Mr. Smith a brief, polite smile. "With all due respect, sir, I didn't really have much of a choice."

Smith laughed to himself as he returned the smile. "There's always a choice. Actually that's why I called you in here." He shuffled some papers around on his messy desk, pausing briefly to read a few before casting them aside. After several attempts, he located the bundle of sheets he was looking for, and laid it neatly between us. "Mrs. Zachary mentioned that you wanted to become an engineer, correct?"

"Not really, sir. I want to become a game designer, but my parents want me in engineering. I figured I could still get to where I want to go with an engineering degree, so I applied to the University of Waterloo's computer engineering program." I shifted nervously in response to Mr. Smith's raised eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," Smith explained, "I received a very interesting piece of literature this morning." He picked up the piece of paper he fished out before and handed it to me.

I cautiously took the paper. As I scanned it, my eyes widened in surprise. Worry crept into my expression as I looked up at my principal. "I wrote this for my creative writing class. Did I do something wrong? How could I possibly get into trouble over a story about a duck?"

Mr. Smith let out a burst of amused laughter. It came from from deep inside him and filled the whole room. "You're not in trouble, Dom. It's amazing! Quite frankly, it's one of the best stories I've read from a student at your level."

"Oh..." Blood rushed to my face as I let the story drop to my lap, unsure of how to react to the high praise. "Um, thanks."

The room sat in silence, save for the occasional chuckle from Mr. Smith. He was clearly enjoying the awkward position in which I found myself, and I had no idea how to react. I opened my mouth a number of times, but, unable to find the right words, yielded and let it shut.

Eventually, he was kind enough to continue. "Look Dom, Mrs. Zachary and I think you're wasting your potential by going into engineering."

Shocked, I responded: "But, why? It's a highly presitigious program. I can still get the masters I want, and once I have that nobody will look at my undergrad anymore." I gestured idly with the story in my right hand. "I don't see how a duck trumps that logic."

There was a brief pause. "Uh, sir."

"It's not about the degree," Mr. Smith laughed.

"It's about knowledge, Dom." Seeing my confused look, he continued. "You probably don't realize this yet, but a degree is more than just a means to an end. People usually just go to school so that they're better able to get a job once they graduate, but what I want you to understand is that education serves a higher purpose.

"You should not be spending five years and thousands of dollars on a piece of paper. You can get one of those using a few minutes and printer ink. The value of education is, believe it or not, learning."

I met his speech with a frown. "I know that, sir. Like I said, I can still use this degree to get the master's I want, and it's not like I'm not going to learn anything in Engineering."

"But you're not going to learn the RIGHT things. When I read that story, I could feel the passion you put into it. Whether or not you think that you were just doing an assignment, it's clear that you've got a significant knack for this kind of thing. You enjoy telling stories, and I can assure you that you're not going to find any stories in computer engineering.

"Engineering is a tough, technical program. And before you say anything, I looked at your grades, and you're more than qualified. The problem isn't that I don't think you can do it, because quite frankly you're a smart kid and you can do whatever you want, but I can guarantee that when you're slogging through technical reports and pages of complex calculus that you will not be happy. You're going to be miserable, and you're going to be counting the seconds until you graduate and you can move on to doing something you're actually passionate about.

"In engineering, you won't have any freedom at all. If you go into a general math or science program, you'll have some core courses, but you'll have choices as well. Choices you can fill with creative writing, or art, or anything that expands that creative mind you've got." He placed a single finger on the pages I held as his face took on a serious expression. "You have a gift, and you need to nurture that gift; not cage it.

"Take it from a man who has made his fair share of mistakes, and doesn't want to see you make the same ones."

We sat in silence as Mr. Smith crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. My mind was racing as I tried to process the wall of information I had just crashed in to. I knew in my heart that he wasn't wrong, but I didn't know how to process that information. My brow creased as I furiously tried to plan my next actions.

"Look, don't take my word for it. I want you to go and speak with Mrs. Zachary about this at some point. She's concerned that you're not going to be able to fulfill your vast potential, and I'm inclined to agree. You don't have to do it right away, but remember that the deadline for university applications is coming up soon."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. As the air exited my lungs, I looked Mr. Smith in the eye. "Is that all, sir?"

He nodded with a sympathetic smile.

"Thanks." The chair let out a muffled groan as it slid against the office's carpet when I stood. I was in a daze as I made my way to the door and opened it with a click. It slowly closed itself in my wake, banging against the frame with a resounding thud. The thud had an unmistakable finality to it.

I had a lot to think about.