Michael McGruder:
CLASS OF 1980
Fulton Elementary SchoolClass of 1980
Aurora, CO
Ft. Lewis CollegeClass of 1992
Durango, CO
Aurora Central High SchoolClass of 1988
Aurora, CO
West Middle SchoolClass of 1983
Aurora, CO
Michael's Story
Life
Where to begin... Let's see... I look back - I reminisce - I laugh - I nod - I see the whole path as a means to get to the point where my fingers are touching the keyboard.
How can I sum that up?? I can't. Too many streets, alleys and highways. Too many vistas, memories, and joys. Too many hardships, adversities and dreams.
However, I can say that the guy who used to eat lunch alone in the auditorium has changed - even though in some respects he's stayed the same. While I can't relate to that young kid anymore, I don't think we're supposed to. We grow up, we have careers, we have events that transpire in our lives that make us realize that we truly are on a unique path.
Be true to yourself - and let the story take you for a ride. A good lesson that I've learned over the years.
School
High school at Aurora Central was pretty darn good. I'm fortunate enough to have some of the friendships I had while there in 84-88 -- and yet I'm glad that I moved on too. The funny thing is - I went back to Central a year or two after I graduated and aside from feeling so completely out of place, it wasn't me anymore. Sometimes it sucks to grow up - other times I'm glad that I'm a different person than I was back then.
I remember band the most and if I had any real regrets is that I wasn't involved in drama as much as I probably should've been (especially considering what I'm doing today..) But that's the sacrifice you make when you're told "you have to prepare for college" - taking all the courses that colleges look at, instead of following where your heart lies.
But I can say - that in the nearly 20 years since graduating from 11th Ave and Newark - you do eventually come full circle in life. Even if you tried convincing yourself that you *had* to go to college to become an accountant - if your *heart* wasn't in it, then you're probably not going to last very long in that direction. That was probably the single more important lesson I've realized in all of these years.
College
College ended up being difficult - not because of the studies - but because of the personal growth that I think most of us went through. It was that syndrome of "being away from home" and really finding yourself. So...Expand for more
me of the things I thought I wanted in life - really started in college. I had a great circle of friends that I cared about and I miss.
Even though I could pile on the number of regrets I have about college - it did eventually teach me the lesson of: "sometimes you just have to go with the flow." A very hard lesson for someone who was bound and determined to right the world on its end. College made me smarter not just academically, but personally and socially. It was okay to let loose, to have fun, to remain responsible and to achieve of all things:
BALANCE....
Because that's ultimately what it comes down to in life. If you sway too much in either direction then you're setting yourself up for a mighty big collapse at some point in your life. Balance is the way to see the world, smell the roses, and enjoy the harmony that exists in between our cubicles and rush-hour traffic jams. Balance is the equation that magical moment of peace and calm in between storms - as the rain settles on the pavement - the docile wind at a standstill while the overhead clouds break forward....
If you achieve balance - you're achieving what most can't even fathom.
Workplace
I had probably one of the most difficult mental/emotional jobs anyone can ever have. The never-ending array of human atrocities and cruelty cannot be measured, much less expressed adequately in the span of a few selected typed words. Instead, I can offer that I have seen the evil in man insofar that I had to change my career. I no longer could do the three jobs that were expected of me while I fought to fortify my emotional/spiritual resolve that became a battered mess after 11 years of fighting "the good fight."
In that chaos, in that horror, in that incredibly dark time - evolved a part of me that I had long since repressed since the days at West Middle School: my creativity. Embracing that inner passion, really giving the dream a chance to fly - is why I'm soaring right now above the clouds. My passion guides me, it fuels my fire and it has dramatically changed the person I am.
Listen to your inner voice. Listen to your passion and believe in yourself. The rest of the equation will sort itself out - all you need is a little faith.
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