“On Marino’s Mind” - Oct 1997
Back in 1997, I wrote a highlights column, “On Marino’s Mind,” in my high school newspaper. (Technically, that was the running name from the second installment.) Fast forward nearly 25 years, and I’m using a different platform to highlight topics of my choice. It’s funny how these things go, but more on that after this fun excerpt from my first article. And why am I sharing this? I think you’ll agree that my teenage voice definitely foreshadows my current voice!
"‘NO WAY!!! ME? Write a Features column for The Caldron?’ Needless to say, I was a teeny bit skeptical about accepting the editors' offer. But I finally figured, "Why not?" and decided to give it a shot. Really, what could go wrong? All it really requires is using a little imagination and creativity, and I can do that.
The next thing to figure out was pinpointing the topic. What was there for me to write about? I mean, I live your basic teenage life . . . it has its up, it has its downs (boy, does it have its downs!). I realized that the column would have to discuss something kids would want to read about (duh!), and better yet, something that pertained to their lives. So what pertained to everybody's lives that I would want to write about (or be allowed to publish?) Sadly, the stressed senior that I am, the first thing that came to mind was the SAT's. Pathetic, huh? Who even wants to think about those, never mind read about them for pleasure? Surely not I. Then it hit me: THE DRIVING TEST!!!!
. . . .
[L]et's just put driving lessons aside and concentrate on the test itself. I got my license on the second day of school this year, and the night before it, I was a wreck. I mean, I was about the last ones of my friends to take it, and one question haunted me all night . . . What if I failed the test???
All my friends had told me that it was the easiest test they had ever taken in their entire lives and was, simply put, a joke. According to them, all I had to do was go to the DMV when it was closed on the weekend and practice parallel parking. (Number one hint to all those without their licenses: I would be careful if I was planning to go to the DMV on a weekend, because, um - it's illegal - "trespassing," as the cop said when he threw me and my parents out. Just an example of my good luck!) But I went back, because, illegal or not, who could stand the embarrassment of failing her driving test?”
Suffice it to say, I passed the test that day!
I share this now, decades later as I’m about to make another trip around the sun, because it’s part of my authentic journey. Changing gears in my career required me to find and identify my authentic self, and guess what? “On Marino’s Mind” was the earliest iteration of my JMT Speaks blog. <Mind blown.>
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