I went to work for a window manufacturer, where I moved up the ladder to become a quality control coordinator. I went to great lengths to conceal my illiteracy. I even managed to provide reports to my supervisor by buying magazines, taking articles that seemed to talk about good or bad things in related products, and then substituting our product names. This was possible because some words I could recognize even though I was not able to comprehend many of the large paragraphs. Unfortunately, one day my supervisor offhandedly remarked that my writing looked like it came from a magazine. I quit that day, horrified that my secret of being illiterate, might become known.
I was encouraged to go back to school and upgrade my education. At that time I could multiply up to five, was at a seventh grade reading level, and a fifth grade writing level.
I graduated with my high school diploma in June of 1994. It was a surreal feeling. I knew that because I had achieved this, that I could go to the next level of learning. Over the next four years, I completed a three-year industrial design program with a one-year co-op program. I was not self-conscious about going to school with students who were twenty years younger than I was and who called me “dad”, because it was exciting. By listening to them, I gained so much perspective.
My confidence grew to the point where I felt that people were actually looking to me as an inspirational figure. I began focusing my energies not just on my personal recovery, but on improving the situation for others.
Don’t be self conscious—In life you are never done—you must keep trying
Robert Grimminck, Writer and poet
Autobiography: To Dream A Different Dream
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