What's the chance of a 38 yrs old immigrant architect working in Houston, Texas? Would i end up saying....Uh Oh...Houston, I think i got a prob.....or would it Mission accomplish???
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.
!She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose.
I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.
"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.
She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids.."
"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.
We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went.
She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.
I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this
whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.
There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!
There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.
If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.
The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with
regrets"
She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose."
She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.
At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.
One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.
REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.
We make a Living by what we get, We make a Life by what we give.
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
thanks for the responses, now i felt lyk 18 nt 38..heh heh. funny age has never been an issue with me but the idea of moving into a new territory kind of jolt me a little and 4 responses helps steady the ship:)
you got a nice story meta....but thats in school.. what about in work? does companies prefer young ones or older ones with experience?
c'mon jason ... 38 years and you should know what companies prefer. but its not about that. i'm sure there's a reason why you're in houston. and there's no point NOW wondering whether you can make it or not. cause ofcourse, you can. the point is, you CHOSE to do something and i believe there was a POURPOSE.
enjoy your choice, the purpose will be fulfilled
I was held back in kindergarten for never saying a word. Since then, I grew up going to school with my sister who was a year younger than I was. It was tough when you have classmates & people who were always comparing us - who was taller, prettier, smarter, popular, etc. It was depressing growing up with her bc I always got the bad end of things. Now, I'm not so bothered by my age - I've learned to accept it near the end of my undergrad. It would have been worst if we had similar interest where competition would be higher - you know how kids are; our personality is basically black/white. We didn't even hang out with each other while growing up.
thanks poly. someone made the same remark as you did... IN LIFE, THERE IS ALWAYS A CHOICE.
i'm confident in myself and what i can do but we always want the odds to be on our side which is one of the reason why i join archinect.
Not only do i find it interesting but i was hoping somebody out there could tell me what to expect in Houston or share similiar situation like mine. 38 years old, Asian (which makes me a minority according to what i heard) Immigrant in a new place and a degree in Architecture not found in the United States!
Thanks too Babs! Both links help a lot. Although it mentioned mostly bout going back to school which brings me to wonder if i could get a good salary if i don't go to school there?
Can i just rely on my experience (8 years in my own firm in my homeland) , a little talent (working with cad and 3dstudio is no problem), hardwork (i usually get 4 hrs of sleep only) and good sense of rumor..i mean humor!
What are my chances again and would anybody make a guess how much i could be worth?
Thanks again to all who responded and I believe that somebody up there likes me and the fact that we all are here is no coincidence. Hoping to hear from you again....
How old is young?
What's the chance of a 38 yrs old immigrant architect working in Houston, Texas? Would i end up saying....Uh Oh...Houston, I think i got a prob.....or would it Mission accomplish???
38 is young. Mission accomplished!
"middle age" is the age of your parents
depends on what she looks like...
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.
!She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose.
I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.
"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.
She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids.."
"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.
We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went.
She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.
I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this
whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.
There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!
There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.
If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.
The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with
regrets"
She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose."
She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.
At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.
One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.
REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.
We make a Living by what we get, We make a Life by what we give.
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
------- I just felt like posting it, OKAY??
thanks for the responses, now i felt lyk 18 nt 38..heh heh. funny age has never been an issue with me but the idea of moving into a new territory kind of jolt me a little and 4 responses helps steady the ship:)
you got a nice story meta....but thats in school.. what about in work? does companies prefer young ones or older ones with experience?
Awesome story, meta. Thanks for all that typing. Made my day.
: you may want to check out these two threads:
second thoughts/grad school/career change/advice (eek!)
Architecture as a second career/ age factor?
thanks meta
I got moshed in another topic I started, when i called a 25year old movie,"old".
so i shall not comment on how old is young or how young is old.
but nice post meta.
nice indeed meta. i hope i have that type of spirit if i am alive at that age.
c'mon jason ... 38 years and you should know what companies prefer. but its not about that. i'm sure there's a reason why you're in houston. and there's no point NOW wondering whether you can make it or not. cause ofcourse, you can. the point is, you CHOSE to do something and i believe there was a POURPOSE.
enjoy your choice, the purpose will be fulfilled
all the best!
I was held back in kindergarten for never saying a word. Since then, I grew up going to school with my sister who was a year younger than I was. It was tough when you have classmates & people who were always comparing us - who was taller, prettier, smarter, popular, etc. It was depressing growing up with her bc I always got the bad end of things. Now, I'm not so bothered by my age - I've learned to accept it near the end of my undergrad. It would have been worst if we had similar interest where competition would be higher - you know how kids are; our personality is basically black/white. We didn't even hang out with each other while growing up.
But that was a nice story meta.
thanks poly. someone made the same remark as you did... IN LIFE, THERE IS ALWAYS A CHOICE.
i'm confident in myself and what i can do but we always want the odds to be on our side which is one of the reason why i join archinect.
Not only do i find it interesting but i was hoping somebody out there could tell me what to expect in Houston or share similiar situation like mine. 38 years old, Asian (which makes me a minority according to what i heard) Immigrant in a new place and a degree in Architecture not found in the United States!
Thanks too Babs! Both links help a lot. Although it mentioned mostly bout going back to school which brings me to wonder if i could get a good salary if i don't go to school there?
Can i just rely on my experience (8 years in my own firm in my homeland) , a little talent (working with cad and 3dstudio is no problem), hardwork (i usually get 4 hrs of sleep only) and good sense of rumor..i mean humor!
What are my chances again and would anybody make a guess how much i could be worth?
Thanks again to all who responded and I believe that somebody up there likes me and the fact that we all are here is no coincidence. Hoping to hear from you again....
she was doing good until that. and until she died. :-(
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