One of My Songs

"Are you reelin' in the years/ Stowin' away the time/ Are you gatherin' up the tears/ Have you had enough of mine?" - "Reelin' in the Years" by Steely Dan

Oops, I forgot to write about one of the songs that describes me in my last post, so I'll do it now. I have several songs that fit me in some way, but "Reelin' in the Years" is the ultimate Shannon song. Here are a few lyrics that are especially meaningful to me.

"Well you wouldn't even know a diamond if you held it in your hand/ The things you think are precious I can't understand." I have no idea why some people give things such high value, like money for instance. Yes, it's useful and I certainly wish I had more of it, but I don't get when people become so consumed with making money, and make it more important than anything else in their lives. After all, money is just pieces of paper, and you can't take it with you!

"You've been telling me you were a genius since you were seventeen/ In all the time I've known you, I still don't know what you mean/ The weekend at the college didn't turn out like you planned/ The things that pass for knowledge I can't understand." This is my main verse. First of all, I am a genius, although I started voicing that fact before I turned seventeen (not in a cocky way though!). Second, I did college backwards, not at all like I planned. My plan was to go to Old Dominion University and complete the five year Master's program, majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies. Yeah, that didn't happen. For the year I went to ODU, I worked part-time in their preschool, and fell in love with the kids, the job, everything. I realized that I didn't want to teach Kindergarten, but infants or toddlers instead. So, I left ODU, enrolled in community college (off and on), and a few years later I completed my degree in Early Childhood Instruction. Not conventional, I know, but it worked for me. Finally, the last part of this verse really speaks to me, because I have learned SO MUCH more on my own time and from experience in the world than I ever did sitting in a classroom being "instructed". Sometimes "the things that pass for knowledge" really make no sense at all.

"The things you think are useless I can't understand." In my opinion, everything can be useful and has a purpose, you just have to be creative and see the beauty in ordinary objects. I can turn a fallen leaf into a great art project, an empty Coke bottle into a cute vase, and I can cut up a pair of old, ripped jeans and use the pieces to make pillows, parts of textured blankets, etc. etc. etc. The list could go on forever.

So, as you can see from this extremely long post, "Reelin' in the Years" is totally my song. Thanks Donald Fagen and Walter Becker for the great lyrics!