climbing the ladder

as i looked ahead, i wasn’t sure that i could make it. neither was the end in sight, nor did those around have any insight that they could offer to make my travels easier. and so i climbed and climbed with little respite from the ladder’s endless curves, fluctuating inclines, and delicate bars that only the most refined and dedicated climbers could conquer.

my parents climbed with me at the very beginning. i guess i was one of the lucky ones. i even had a couple brothers nudging me along. they seemed to be in it for the long haul, but soon i learned there is no such thing as a Warranty of Infinite Support. sadly enough, it's not included with the purchase of the ladder.

there didn’t seem to be many obstacles from the get-go though. it all seemed fair and equitable, didn’t appear to be a race. there were letters and numbers flying all over the place though-coming at me from all different directions. i really wasn’t sure whether to precariously dodge them (i was on a ladder, afterall!) or beginning collecting them as my new, favorite pastime.

and then one sunny day, a big M and D hits me on the head, and i though hmmm, maybe i'll get an M.D., somehow-almost a coincidental accident-i slipped on the ladder only to regain my balance as a magic carpet with M.Ed. engraved in it saved me from continuing on a longer, more dangerous ladder that didn’t match my skill sets.

thinking back to the ladder’s origins, i met teachers, classmates, best-friends-forevers, tutors, mentors, peers, friends, acquaintances, and even enemies. i've always wondered about those letters and numbers floating around though. particularly the ones that look like Ss with one and sometimes two vertical lines that splice the letter down its center. why were those so different from the rest, and did they really need to be floating around, anyways?