A 13 Year Old Earns Fourth Degree. At 13, I Was Saving a Princess

I heard about a 13-year-old boy named Jack Rico from California who has just graduated from college with his fourth associate's degree.  The discipline required to do this is off the charts!  This boy has a very bright future.

That got me thinking, what was I doing at the age of 13?  Not earning my fourth college degree, that's for sure.  No, when I was 13, I was spending way too much time in front of the TV trying to save Princess Peach on Super Mario Bros.  This was on the original NES of course, it was the 80s after all.

I can still hear my mom saying from the other room, "Will you put that game away and go outside and play? There is a whole world you are missing out on!"  I would reply, "But mom, it's 15 below zero!"

Anyway, going to college was the furthest thing from my mind at 13.  College seemed like a lifetime away for someone who hasn't even started high school and I had plenty of time to worry about all that adult stuff later.  I was more concerned about collecting baseball cards and practicing baseball so I could become the next Don Mattingly.  That didn't quite work out as planned.

It wasn't until 1997 when I earned my first and only college degree, an associate's degree in Business Management.  The next year accidentally stumbled into a radio job in Sioux Falls and the rest is history.  Overall radio has treated me well and it has turned into a great career.

All that said, would I have traded my childhood of too many video games and dreams of hitting a walk-off home run to win the World Series for a few college degrees?  Not for one second.  However, I do wish Jack Rico the best of luck in life, he's off to a great start.