It was the fall of 2002, and my long and lonely summer was finally coming to an end. I had no friends or family near me, and I was living alone in my grandparents' old house, 70 miles away from my real home in the mountains. For several weeks, I spent each afternoon watching TV alone on the couch after completing my daily chores. Minutes turned into hours as the images on the screen moved and flashed. I waited for the sun to set so my boredom would come to an end. With each passing day, the excitement inside me grew.
“I start college in a few days,” I thought to myself as I daydreamed in the backyard, “I wonder what it’ll be like?”
The sun’s rays beamed through the smog of Los Angeles as I worked slowly, pulling weeds and raking leaves. I felt that time was slowing down and tomorrow would never come. Little did I know, this would be the last time I felt bored and eager for tomorrow.
My time at Columbia College has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my educational career. I have developed my critical thinking skills, ended my fear of public speaking, learned to appreciate other points of view, and brought all my random coursework together into a degree that makes sense for me. My coursework in General Studies truly reflects my educational journey. I worked professionally, gaining new skills in different fields outside of school. I also gathered educational knowledge from a variety of sources. This combination of acquired skills led me to my dream job as the Instructor of Automotive Technology at Morro Bay High School in California, where I can share what I have learned in the automotive industry with my students and their families.
By taking a class here and a class there, I was able to participate in a variety of different classroom activities over the years. When I “dropped out” of engineering and started taking the classes that I wanted to take, versus the classes that I was required to take, I began to enjoy school and looked forward to learning. The general education courses were the hardest for me. I struggled to stay engaged with these classes because I was simply not interested in them. Over the years, I learned to stop focusing on what I did not like and instead I figured out how to be
present and engaged, no matter what the topic was. I also learned how to listen better, judge less, and I found that these classes did help provide the foundation for the upper-level courses.
In COMM 110 - Public Speaking, I was able to break away from the fear of talking in front of a group of people. As I developed my skills in the class, I realized that I was not afraid of speaking in public, but rather, I was afraid of speaking on topics that I knew very little about. As I learned the techniques of speaking, I moved away from unfamiliar topics and found it easy to talk about things I knew a lot about. The real breakthrough happened when I realized I could also stand up in front of people and support a fellow speaker without talking. Using eye contact, strong posture and affirming expressions help build the speaker up and keep the audience engaged. These skills have proven invaluable in the workplace where I speak in front of a class of 30 high school students four times a day, five days a week. I have also participated in local events, led board meetings, spoken in front of industry leaders, presented for community groups, and addressed and thanked government agencies.
While taking PHIL 330 - Ethics, I learned about the history of human thought and how the mind works. It was during this class that I realized that we are not what we think, but rather we are beings experiencing the world around us. René Descartes (1637) is quoted for saying “I think, therefore I am” which is the principle that the modern western culture is built upon. As discussed in the Samadhi Movie (2017), “No other phrase more clearly encapsulates the fall of civilization. Descartes’ error…was the equating of fundamental being with thinking.” As I looked deeply into this, I understood. I found myself lying in bed at night thinking about the past and worrying about the future. My thoughts were an illusion and not reality. The reality was that I was lying in my bed, in an amazing house, next to my beautiful wife, with my dear son asleep in the next room, and Tinka the cat snoring by my feet.
Reality is enjoying the life that we have built while separated from GOD; realizing this is temporary and only for the moment.
These skills now show up in my daily life. Clear and effective communication has been a key skill that I have developed in school and applied to the professional world. When I started at Columbia College I was introduced to Gmail. That single occurrence sparked a communication
renaissance within me. Using Gmail and multiple logins to the Google Suite, I created different characters, Dada/Dad Ritchie (Family Man), Ritchie Wimmer (Autoshop Owner), Mr. Wimmer (Teacher), and Ritchie Wimmer (Student). By consciously “clocking in and out” of each role, I can focus on specific tasks while leaving others behind until the next “shift.”
Real life is just like going to college, focusing on one task or class at a time and learning how to juggle is the name of the game. I’ve worked multiple jobs since I was 15 years old, but I used to struggle to keep my thoughts separate. Now, I’ve learned how to channel that energy into
each “character.” Of course, I’m still human, and I still short circuit from time to time.
I can now divide my time up into even parts to keep my life balanced. I can look at each hour I spend being a character and I can see what’s working and what’s not. I can add more time to my studies and pull back some of my teaching time when needed. I can add more time to my
professional shop when needed. I can trade work time for my family time. It’s just like surfing, the waves are different sizes at different intervals, but the tide keeps rolling in and out; I’m just trying to ride the waves, not drown, and have a great time.
Metaphorically, I feel I have a good hold of the reins of my life but I also understand that “the horse is still running at full gallop!” At some point I jumped up onto this wild horse and I sometimes find myself holding on for dear life!
A dear life? Yes it is, I’m just holding on and enjoying the ride no matter how mild or wild it is right NOW.
It is the Spring of 2025, the school year is coming to the end, and the time is flying by now. I am no longer alone but rather surrounded daily by hundreds of friends and family. From my son to my students, I am decades ahead of where I was when I started. For several weeks now I have been studying for this class, reading books, watching videos, researching and reflecting. I still complete my daily chores, but sit on the couch only briefly these days. I now wish the sun would never set, and look forward to the sunrise as soon as darkness arrives. With each passing day, the excitement inside me grows.
“I finish college in a few days,” I think to myself as I daydream in MY backyard, “I wonder what it’ll be like?”
As I grow older, I seek to stay present and engaged in life. I can recall what I have learned, synthesize it, refine it, and teach it. As discussed in Samadhi Movie (2017), I am learning how to die before I die, and my goal is to become emptiness dancing in all things, attached to none, but breathing life into all things that cross my path, both personally and professionally.
Written by Ritchie Wimmer
References
Descartes, R. (1637). Discourse on the Method. Leiden, Netherlands. Self Published; René
Descartes. (I. Maclean, Trans.). Oxford University Press.
Awaken The World Film. (2017, September 5). Samadhi Movie, 2017 - Part 1 - "Maya, the
Illusion of the Self" [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw9zSMsKcwk