Forgetful Inspiration

Amazing what one phone call can do. While at Arizona State, I was a T.A. for a professor who ended up becoming a great friend and someone who I still maintain regular contact with. Pedro (Dr. Pete Padilla, right) has always been supportive and we end up talking for over an hour every time I call.

Maybe Pete is forgetful. Usually it’s something small that I can give him shit about like "you left your beer over there" or "we already saw her by the bar". However, on Sunday, it was something huge he completely forgot. I never thought I'd say it but forgetting was actually was a good thing. See, Pedro forgot that I’m applying to grad school this fall. Completely lost track of it even though he’ll be writing one of my letters of recommendation and reviewing my writing sample.

Our phone conversations usually start off with talk about familes. At graduation, he met my folks and they totally dug him. They always ask how he’s doing and vice versa. From there we progress to talk about work, what is going on with his teaching/research, and the Sociology department gossip.

So I start into my daily tirade about how my job is robbing me of my soul and stripping away my dignity. He then just out of the blue says to me:

“Hey bro, you know you oughta teach. Have you thought about teaching at the college level? You’d be great at it.”

I almost started laughing and was ready to start into full shit-giving mode when my brain synapses actually fired despite having to deal with brain-dead fucks on the phone all week at work. I thought to myself in a split second….

“He’s actually forgotten I’m applying to grad school so I can teach someday. If that’s the case, then really his statement that I should think about teaching college someday is really an unsolicited statement. He thinks I’d be a great prof.”

I laughingly reminded him I’m applying this fall and he remembered. I tell him what I’m doing and so on. I tell him the GRE is what is worrying me. I know I’d get in somewhere; the question is where and the GRE score makes that difference.

But once off the phone, I felt inspired again. It was as if someone who knew me but didn’t know my plans just outright declared that I would be a great college professor. I needed that bit of inspiration to push me to work on my packet and to keep studying for the GRE. Thanks Pedro!!