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Kevin at a Desk

What it Means to Be in a Cohort

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So, You’re in a cohort?

Honestly i never knew what this word meant until i enrolled in my Masters of Education degree at the beginning of 2017. Truth be told i didn’t know what to expect from this idea of a mass group of people undergoing the same requirements to obtain the same degree, it seemed very interesting to me. At the same time in my life i felt like i wasn’t doing much with my life. Yes i understand the fact i was getting my Masters but because it was at the same school i attended Undergrad it felt like nothing to me so i made a stupid rule for myself; I m not here to make friends i am here to get my degree. My goal was not to interact with the new folks and really just put my nose to the grind until graduation in May.

That plan kinda failed right out of the gate seeing as i had some friends already in the program and didn’t want to break those connections off, thus open the flood gates to new people i met along the way. The people i met along the way were so different and unique in their experiences and personal lives that it was hard not to connect, especially when it was in an awkward diversity class (Shout out to that class you know who you are).

As the weeks and months went along i realized that this cohort wasn’t what i was gonna imagine it to be. Many of the same folks had the same goal i had about not making new friends and seeing that goal become unreachable after late night shenanigans and early morning coffee runs. The definitive moment when i realized i had to be with people was one class, where out of the entire cohort only three of us had to be in and realizing that for the rest of the year this was a good core i was gonna stick with because of one random text in our message group saying a famous line from the play Les Miserables ” Do you hear the People Sing?”  (Shout out to Pat and Amanda)DYHTPS

This Cohort was one of the best things i had going for me in grad school, especially since we had all these things changing in our world it was good to have people knowing what those changes felt like. I knew when i was having a bad day, i could walk down to the office next to mine and shoot the breeze for a couple of moments of peace even if i was bothering them during their work, but i hope they appreciated me as i appreciated them.

To those in a cohort now looking to get their masters, enjoy the company of those who surround you for a couple of reasons;

One you’ll be working with them in your field so best to get to know them young

Two They are good people that really want to change the world the best way they know how, might as well help them out with that

Three You legit will never know who you will meet, i met some great friends that i will rely on for a lot things in post grad so you might as well meet them.

In the end, this is a Thank You to the people in the Merrimack College Higher Education Class of 2018 Cohort! Ya’ll Killing the game!

 

 

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On Being a Boulder Brook Mom (and the ramblings of a young poet)

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The women around here are not JUST women – they are Titans. They grow up knowing that they have to be brave, fearless even. That they have to have grace and know their own worth – know that they are not cut out to simply be an accessory in their own life. That husbands aren’t guaranteed, because time is not kind and old age and good health is as good a gift as any other.

Women around here wield water skis like swords and dirtied hands like first place prizes. Women here are the reason we believe that there is a future beyond the hateful words we hear anywhere else. Women here are the reason this writer – has a voice that says something other than “like and um” when speaking in front of crowded rooms. Women here are the reason I write.

There’s Something About a Place Like This

I said it once but I will say it again, I grew up around powerful women. Strong women who loved, lived and cried for the future of their families. I grew up around Roxy the riveter types – women who were true heroes in their own right. I grew up around WOMEN – and when I say there is something about a place – I mean, there is something about THIS place that makes being who you are a little less frightening and a lot more possible. And maybe that feeling could be attributed to a mothers touch or maybe it could just be called what it is – this place is love.

It is my father’s heart still beating as the waves crash on the beach that reminds me of him – its my mother’s smile from before she knew what true unending hurt was. It’s dirty feet, sandy carpets and a love for people that are so much more than family.

In a place like this – like home, the wind moves like poetry and the waves crash in such a way that could make a natural disaster pause and watch. In a place like this – drunk thoughts become sobering memories of sunsets that reminded you of a childhood you can’t return to. It’s a place like this that becomes your identity and it is from mothers like ours that we can translate what all this poetic bullshit means.

So How do you Put words to this kind of Music?

Well I guess you don’t… but instead of stopping to correct the music – maybe its better just to sit down, pause and listen.

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this post is dedicated to all the powerful and influential men and women we have lost this year. thank you for all you have taught me – thank you for being titans among men