| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
Carol Perkins: Let's Talk About... Field Hockey It wasn't quite like Paul on the road to Damascus, but Carol Perkins had an *eppitomie which redirected her life to the Highest Calling, with a profound conversion to the becoming an English Major, and serving the students of the the Free State of Metcalfe as an English teacher. Next previous Carol Perkins column: The Furniture Truck By Carol Perkins Few commercials catch my attention, but this one did. The theme was "When I Grow Up, I Want To Be...", and all those speaking were sixty or older. I could identify. Each year I try to reinvent myself, most of the time with little success. This commercial caused me to think about my college days when I was trying to choose a major. I NEVER wanted to be a teacher. There were already too many in my family, and I wanted to be different. Teaching was an honorable profession, but somehow I wanted more than a classroom, a textbook, and answering to bells. At time, couldn't think of anything else to do The problem was that I couldn't think of anything else to do. At the end of the first semester, I succumbed to the family tradition and orchestrated a four year plan to be, of all things, a PE major. For those who know me, they know why I say, "Of all things." I am not the least bit athletic beyond walking. So why would I choose to major in such field? I wanted to be a cheerleading coach. How mature. My dream of following in the footsteps of two of my uncles, who were Physical Education majors, lasted one semester. One LONG semester. I didn't realize how much science was required. I didn't realize how much activity was involved. I didn't realize I was ill-prepared for this course of study. Other than the four semesters of PE required, I was given list of many other PE courses I would be required to take. I don't remember if it was specifically required, or if I couldn't get into another class, but my first course on my way to being a PE major was field hockey. One afternoon, I followed my fellow PE majors to the hockey field where I was promptly given the equipment necessary to save my life. I had never seen field hockey, or any kind of hockey, and certainly never heard of women participating. Most of the other girls playing could lift the back end of a truck The first thing I noticed was the size of these girls. There was a time when I was as thin as the wind. Most of these girls could lift the back end of a truck. Not only were they much larger and much taller than I, they were rough cookies. I didn't have to take the field with them to know their strength. They had muscles; I didn't. Frankly, I was terrified. I strapped on my shin guards, or whatever they were, to protect my knees. I later learned why I needed them. Then I was given a stick. As if I were supposed to know what to do with it, the coach told us to hit the field. I went to the back and hoped I would escape the ball or whatever it was being slung across the field. I side stepped many plays, but I couldn't avoid all of them. When the ball was finally shot in my direction, these robust women followed it, knocking each other in the shins and clanging together their sticks until I couldn't escape the mix. I was beaten without intention, and by the end of the hour, I was bruised and confused. I was neither strong enough nor courageous enough to be a PE major. The next morning, a race to declare a new major The next morning, I raced to my advisor's office and declared a new major. I had to drop a few classes and pick up others because the curriculum for a PE major and English major were not very similar. Why English? I looked over the list of potential majors and that one was the most interesting. Who could resist poetry, creative writing, reading the masters, and mixing with highbrow, intellectual geniuses who thought they were akin to Shakespeare? Who wouldn't want to sit in the ravine at Eastern Kentucky University and write poems? I didn't quite fit that mold either, but certainly closer than PE. Most of time, future is declared by accident How does one decide his future? Most of the time it is by accident. Some know early in life what they want to be. Others are still trying to figure it out. I wonder what my life would have been if I had been a PE major? I might have been coaching a college field hockey team somewhere. I might have lost both limbs. I think I made the right choice. I know I made the safer one. (email Carol at cperkins@scrtc.com. Her book, Let's Talk About, is available at Ivy Bookstore, 402 Rogers RD, Glasgow, KY) *eppitomie/a>: With apologies to Carol Perkins, a CM family Malaprop in-joke. This story was posted on 2010-05-16 07:58:14
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic Carol Perkins:
Carol Perkins: Sinus! Carol Perkins: In a hurry Carol Perkins: The Furniture Truck Carol Perkins: Color Me Beautiful Carol Perkins: Willie Carol Perkins: I witnessed the Civil Rights Movement Carol Perkins, Perfect Vision Carol Perkins: Affairs to Remember Carol Perkins: The Teepee Carol Perkins: Addicted to the Soaps View even more articles in topic Carol Perkins |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
