Perspective

I've been thinking about perspective a lot lately. Mostly how it pertains to photography and taking pictures, but every time I think about perspective I think about one of my former students from community college.

Her name is Sharon. And she taught me a lot about seeing things from another perspective. Here is part of her story.

I have taught several beginning computer classes via the community college for people receiving unemployment benefits. The theory is to give folks who had lost their jobs some computer skills so they would be more marketable in the workforce.

One of the take-aways from this class (besides computer skills) was a working resumé. To receive a grade from me, every student had to turn in a nice, polished, up-to-date resumé that was created on a computer and not a manual typewriter.

Sharon was in one of these classes.

As she handed in her resumé to me, she told me a story about a previous incarnation of her resumé. It included her maiden name of Dubee (pronounced Doo Bee) and sadly, the resumé had her name in big bold letters across the top of the paper:

Sharon A. Dubee

Her perspective was that of her name.

Potential employers just saw "Sharin' A Doobie" across the top of a resumé in big, bold letters.

And it probably didn't help matters much that (at the time) she lived on Grassy Lane.

Sharon never thought about how others would view her name. And it never occurred to her that perhaps Sharon A. Dubee from Grassy Lane would raise a few eyebrows because she thought her resumé was most awesome.

Her perspective changed a little that day, as did her resumé in which she dropped the "A".

A little perspective goes a long way. It can take you all the way from Sharon A. Dubee to Sharin' A Doobie.

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