Like I said earlier, there are many reasons people become marginalized. Education is a very common one. While this only relates to the experience I chose to talk about in terms of how it made us feel (angry), I do have experiences with this as well.
I dropped out of high school in the 11th grade. I know right? One year to go and I had better things to do. But this impacted me greatly on getting a job. Almost everywhere in my town required a GED, so I had to get mine before I could get a job that paid above minimum wage.
It angers me to hear of someone so hard working getting shot down just because of a piece of paper, but that is our world today. That little piece of paper hold power. A lot of power. And without it, a person can't expect to do more than "get by."
This reminds me of my older sister, who is always saying she would be a great nurse if they would just let her be one and she didn't have to go to school. Because she would fail at school. No book smarts, and no motivation to obtain them. But the hands-on experience and passion is there. She should be a nurse, but without that piece of paper she never will be.
I am glad that Abby became motivated to get a degree, even if anger was the motivator. It was mine as well. I remember the day I walked out of the candy factory... My boss was saying as I walked away, "The grass isn't always greener on the other side..." Well Russ, you were wrong. You may have needed me to package those glorious little gummy bears, but I needed a college degree. Now I have one, and I'm going for another.
If I learned anything from this exercise, it's that marginalization makes us all feel the same way: angry. But it happens. It's just a part of life. We will never hold all of the power.
Until next time,
Keri Jo
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