Updated: Jul 28, 2020
Just how does someone become friends with someone 50 years older? Allow me to tell you the story of how Marilyn K. became one of my best friends.
I graduated from RIT late May of 1996. A mere two days later I arrived in Glendale, Arizona to begin my graduate program at Thunderbird, the American School of International Management. It had been my dream for a few years to attend this school and I didn't want to waste any time. My new friends on campus were a bit shocked by my lack of work experience and young age. After an amazing week of orientation, classes started and things got real. I began having feelings of regret regarding my decision to start school without any work experience. I was also really missing my first love. We had dated all through undergrad and it was becoming harder and harder to speak with him every day (no cell phones). The cafeteria on campus was not upgraded with modern systems and required that someone check your meal card when you came inside. The woman that was there for most meals had this amazing dyed red hair and we began saying hello to each other every day. She started noticing that my mood was changing from excited and happy to sad and gloomy. One day this wonderful woman stopped me and asked if I was ok. I told her that I was not ok and then told her about all of my problems and fears. Turns out that Marilyn was exactly what I needed to get through the next few months.
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