How I Transformed My Life in 5 Steps - Part 2

Part 2 - From College to Being a Waiter

[Continued from Part 1 – From High School to College] After telling my parents about my big plans to become a Philosophy professor, it suddenly struck me…I didn’t really like Philosophy all that much!

My God, what do I do now? I had taken only science classes at Baylor and am about to graduate with a Philosophy degree and zero “marketable skills.” I could barely type. I didn’t know the first thing about computers. And I had no business knowledge or skills.

So graduate I did, with a very expensive Philosophy degree, in May 1993.

In the few weeks leading up to graduation, I felt that perhaps Sociology might be a better fit. So I packed my bags and headed to Austin, Texas. I knew a guy I grew up with who was down in Austin and asked him if I could stay with him and his roommates.

While I was planning my way into the University of Texas at Austin, I got a job selling Cutco knives which quickly turned out to be a waste of time and energy. But they did teach me how to cut a penny to look like a Texas longhorn.

The next job I got was as a waiter at a Tex-Mex restaurant called Pappasito’s. It was a nice, trendy place and the money was ok, although I never made it onto the weekend shifts which was where the “big” money were to be made.

Austin was a lonely place for me because I didn’t find anyone who could relate to what I was going through. My roommates were young college students destined for success in their computer and medical fields. The fellow waiters and waitresses had their own lives, usually involving partying and other late-night activities. So it was just me. Since I barely had any money, I would sometimes turn to my parents for help which usually ended in a lecturing by them, shouting by me, and then silence and ignoring one another.

My mom and dad felt that I was wasting my life and not fulfilling the goals and dreams they had in mind for me. I was a disappointment to them, but even worse, I was a disappointment to myself.

After about a year of idling by, I returned back to Dallas…dreading the thought of facing my friends and family and the favorite question on everyone’s mind,

“What are you doing now?”

Stay tuned for “Part 3 – From Being a Waiter to a Law School Student.“