Collision of Worlds

I really never know what to write until something hits my brain in a way that says, "you need to talk about this, if only to work through it for yourself." On occasion, I actually listen to myself, and if someone else can relate (just one someone is all it takes) then I feel the effort was valuable.

My two worlds often collide: my scientific/researcher persona and my creative/writing persona. I would explain it in terms of the Marvel and DC universes, but if you know me in real life, you know I really despise all movies DC. So, I would hate to attribute any part of myself to a metaphor that I do not like.

World 1. My brain loves to digest and process all things math and science. From a very young age, I got along with it all with the exception of biology (and really only when we had to start dissecting stuff *shudder). Chemistry, Physics, all Mathematics. Love, love, love. Nailed A's in every class I took. Even back in the day when we did "times tables", you know those sheets with multiplication problems dealing with a number 1's, 2's, 3's, etc. I was a rock star. 

Fast forward to high school and I was introduced to wonderful things like Trigonometry, Geometry, Algebras, and yes, even in introduction to the lovely world of Calculus. To say I was hooked is a gross understatement.

This love I felt for the scientific and mathematical definitely played into my choice of school and degree selection. I had narrowed my choices down to two options. The University of Alaska at Fairbanks had offered me what amounted to be a full-ride to attend and study engineering or math, and a closer-to-home college offered me less money, but a smaller campus. I took a few looks at the map to see where Fairbanks, Alaska, actually was, and from there, the decision was pretty easy. I chose local.

Sometimes now looking back, I wonder what being bolder would have led to?? Mostly a waste of energy to think about, but those moments are fun.

Once safely enrolled, I dove into courses and nailed them, earning only one B my freshman year and the rest A's. I secured an internship and began getting real world experience in what I thought I would be doing for a career. Wow, I did NOT like it. So, two-and-a-half years into the engineering program, I switched gears and ended up graduating with a degree in Mathematics. Mathematics is closely related to Computer Science (in the logical thinking sphere), and I ended up getting full-time work with a state agency working with databases (rudimentary as they were in the early 1990s).

I will say that during this whole time, I HATED WRITING. There, I admitted it to the world. Writing and I did not get along, and creative writing was most certainly out of the question. That brings me to...

World 2. In Montana, we had to have four years of English to graduate from high school, and to say I did not get along well with English as a class is being generous. I earned B's and A's, but I really had to work for them. Not nearly as cut-and-dried as my math/science cirricula. After graduating from high school and going to college, I did everything I could to avoid the practice. Only had to take one freshman-level writng class to get a degree, so that's what I did. Writing 101, one and done. And even that was a waste, I had a section taught by an adjunct whom the college hired from the local high school. The lady was so nice, but taught the course like a freshman in high school would need. Boom! A! Done!

Where I noticed the major change in my writing (or need to improve) was when I got a job. Many of the job duties required effective and efficient writing skills, so I had to build those as I went. In hindsight, the benefit of strugging through a few more writing classes would have been a decent idea.

Fast forward through many years of reading and writing, and struggling to improve, I made the decision to go back to school for a graduate degree. (You can see that story starting here: Going back to school - part one)

I'll write more about that experience, but the "fast forward" version is that I earned my M.S. in Technical Communication with a 4.00 GPA, and I did it in two years while working full time (all sorts of stories there!)

So, finally, the collision of worlds. My brain constantly struggles to bridge the gap between math/science guy and writing guy. To help me along with that journey, I started diving into writing and sharing it with the world through Twitter (@darkxfer), this blog, and WattPad (@darkxfer). Most of the time, the collisions are mostly managed in my head without much collateral damage, but if you see something that really makes you wonder if I'm sane? That's when a collision occurred. Be kind. Keep scrolling. And put a heart on it.