Palo Alto was too stifiling, left for country life
/My time in high school
Attended high school in the
1970s
Overall high school experience
5/10. I managed to crawl through high school mostly un-noticed being very awkward, shy and socially inept. I got good good grades and made my academic goals...but that was about it. Again, being shy help me back
Grades in high school
Mostly A's. top 10% of class
Best subjects
Computer Science / Engineering / Technical, English, History / Social Studies, Foreign Language, Math, Science. See where we are going? I focused on the sciences, but ended up with a career in the visual arts, which I ignored in high school
Struggled with...
Math....seemed to go way too far in terms of what I would ever need to use.
Favorite extracurricular
had no extracurricular-spend a lot time alone on my bike and horseback riding
Life since high school
“Palo Alto felt very safe, but too constrained. With a very traditional and sheltered upbringing, I did not have the skills to think outside the box, i.e. do much of anything that I felt would put me out of control of my life. ”
Attended college / university at
U.C. Davis
Majored in
Animal Science major headed toward Vet School. Headed off into scientific illustration. Worked as staff illustrator at Stanford.
Post-graduate education or training
Training in plant propagation and hoof trimming
Places lived in US
California
Current occupations / past occupations
Worked at Stanford Univ medical school art department, started up 2 native plant nurseries, worked as special ed aide and spend 10 years doing equine hoof trimming.
Industries I've worked in
- Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting
- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (e.g. Law, Accounting, Interior Design, Graphic Design, R&D, PR, Advertising, etc.)
- Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Did your education prepare you for your career or occupation?
not directly, but enough to be able to search and learn adequate information.
Has your education or career/occupation trajectory ever changed? How?
sure, see career path above. It all helped be get the heck out of the Bay area
A little introspection...
To me, being successful means...
being able to realize goals that help you support yourself in an increasing complicated world, be able to make choices regarding the impact you want to have on the earth's resources, and be able to safe and happy.
My definition of success has changed over time.
I was able to meet all my career, monetary and lifestyle goals. I was not able to meet all my relationship goals but learned how to be okay with that and think out of the box.
My greatest accomplishment to date and what I’ve learned from it
Some minor national recognition. I learned to not give up.
My biggest mistake or regret so far and what I’ve learned from it
being too shy and not being outgoing and open. It took me into my 50's and 60's to be comfortable with my surroundings and people. I wish I had had that self confidence at a younger age.
An unexpected event that changed my life and how it impacted me
At my most open and devil-may-care time of my life in my 20's, I randomly met a man who i was able to be myself with, as I was not looking for another person. I married that man....A lot of good and a lot of bad...balanced me out.
Anything else you'd like to share?
Palo Alto felt very safe, but too constrained. With a very traditional and sheltered upbringing, I did not have the skills to think outside the box, i.e. do much of anything that I felt would put me out of control of my life. Pay attention to this-I had the opportunity to live in my mother's house and raise my kids in the same school system I grew up in-[high school name omitted]. I chose not to do that-as there were too many elements of a fulfilling childhood that I could not produce in Palo Alto.. My kids grew up in a rural area and had sunny, clear air and free childhood experiences-and still managed to get into the colleges of their choice (U.C. and Cal Poly)
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My favorite spot in or around Palo Alto
The wild Palo Alto Foothill lands, before they got developed
