What's it all about, Liddy?

Michael Liddy - where have you been? It’s a popular chant these days on the blogosphere and it’s about time I brought everyone up to date. Where have I been, huh? I’ve been overwhelmed with hibernation…that’s where. I’ve been dealing with a large setback in life and then some wonderful epiphanies as well. All of it taken in, via the privacy I’ve surrounded myself in. At least online, that is. What happened, you ask?

This.

Approximately 2 months ago, I lost my job. Plain and simple. I’d love to say that it was strictly based on the downtrodden economy, but if it’s one thing I’ve learned how to do in my life…it’s how to man-up. I have myself to blame for the most part. Job performance was the primary culprit. Some of it I just wasn’t qualified for…other parts I just had no desire to learn. I’m a pretty confident guy when it comes to my own capabilities, but this situation just spiraled down, both in and out of my control and ultimately I couldn’t fix it. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken the job in the first place, but we were desperate for income and I couldn’t turn it down. The worst part is that it involved a friendship, and they always tell you to never do business with friends because of this very reason. In the end I certainly hope I didn’t lose this friend (in the one that hired me), but I don’t think that I did. We are both above that and after an understandable period of mourning and/or licking of my wounds, I’m confident that when we get back in touch we’ll be able to resume that part of our lives. Different, but respectable. In certain ways I know that I let him down. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But, I made some awesome friends there, as well, and I don’t plan on letting them slip away, either. I’m just taking some time to get back on my feet. You won’t hear me bashing myself here, because in the end, the job was eating me away…and my swift amputation from the company was likely a relief for both of us. It’s never happened to me before, getting fired, and the eventual pain was in the severing of daily friendships and, of course, the money. Oh, how I miss the money. And I’ve never had to experience the emotional hangover of being fired before, either, so it’s taken some time to sink in. And as much as I hate to throw around cliché’s, I will. As they say…“when one door closes…another window opens“.

After the shock of termination wore off, the realization that there is still hope emerged and the desire to accept my own maturity and contemplate the fact that I may have a thing or two to actually teach to others made it quite clear that another career change was in order. I’ve wanted to enter the field of academia ever since I left it as a student and what better time than the present. So I’m about to embark on the next phase of my life, which is to attain my teacher’s certification and become a teacher. And it absolutely thrills me to the core.

In order to do that, I figured one of the best ways to expose myself to the field of education was to actually get a job in our local school district. Primarily because I heard that they pay tuition reimbursement, I applied for a job, any job, at the Scottsdale Unified School District, just to get in the door. Well, I’m in the door. As a security guard at a local high school. (Did I mention how much I miss the money?) But, after taking this position, even knowing that there are brighter days ahead, I soon realized I had much to learn.

You see, in one respect I’m lucky in that I’m working with one of my close friends, (Hey Jim) and we have the opportunity to car pool (Gas saver!), and just hang out and shoot the shit. But, I must admit, the conceited, educated Michael felt that with a college degree, this job, despite being a means to an end, was potentially lower than my standards. I know, it’s horrible and it was a gut reaction. I used to feel the same way all those years ago schlepping around a kitchen with illegal Mexicans who left school after 8th grade and now made the same money as me. And, as usual, my view would change as soon as I got to know everyone and the job. Maybe having such high aspirations in life, and never quite meeting them, was always such a blow to my ego, that I always ended up eating humble pie and never took enough inventory to realize that I‘ve created every scenario I‘ve been in. And even worse…is that I never took the amazing lessons that were learned - at the time I was learning them.




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Say what you will about security guards, but I’ll never think less of them again. You think it’s easy to not only manage and be on alert with 2400 teenagers surrounding you, knowing that their safety is your primary goal, but do it all when most of them think you’re the enemy? It’s insane, is what it is. But so many of these kids are so amazing, so malleable and have such ideological viewpoints that all I see is myself 25 years ago. And I realize now, how little I knew. And how much I thought I knew. And how far I’ve come. Yeah, some of these kids look at you like I just told you I did at the beginning…just a security guard. But, I see now, that it is much, much more. You may not be in a classroom with these kids, but you represent what you want them to become. Mature and sensible adults. You befriend some of them, you keep others in line, but overall…you try your best to keep them safe. Whether it’s a fire, a lockdown or a simple spilled soft drink, you see how vulnerable these kids can be…and they’re completely clueless to most of the dangers around them. Both seen and unseen.

So, I take new pride in what I’m doing everyday. Even though I’ve always respected my friend, Jim, I’ve developed a new wonderment at his ability to handle these kids in a way that other guards don’t. He can communicate, relate and still maintain authority with these kids so that they respect him even more than the others security officers. He deserves more money.

All these experiences are invaluable to me as my new chapter begins and I will ultimately have charge of my own group of kids in a classroom not so far away. I’m excited about it. Really excited about it. Everyday I patrol the halls of the high school as a security guard and I can visualize about the day I’ll start as a teacher and I know I’ve made the right decision.

And that, my friends, is what I’ve been up to.