CHEMISTRY REVELATION - MESSAGE FROM MIKE DUMONT
Boom!
Okay, so at the reunion this was probably the most common thing for people to talk to me about from my high school days. I now feel somewhat compelled to talk about what has happened to me as a result of that fateful day in independent study chemistry.
As some of you probably know, but many may not, I was a fairly nervous person in high school, and a bit intimidated by social situations. What you may not know was that nervousness was really driven by some fairly deep-seated self-consciousness during those all too tough high school years. My experience of that experiment blowing up drastically changed my life for the better. Although I didn't know it at the time, something very unique happened to me that day. The change that occurred was definitely for the better. I discovered life was way too short to spend it worrying about what people were going to think about me. It was after that experience that I started becoming more assertive in the way that I dealt with people, and more open with people in my life.
In my work as a counselor, this is an experience I often talk about with patients. I have often said that if I could go back to that day and do things over again, I would still do the experiment knowing that it was going to blow up, and that I would be grievously injured. I wouldn't trade the changes that have happened since that day for less pain and suffering in the time that it took me to recover from the injury. I can honestly say that I am a much happier and healthy person for having this experience than I ever was prior to that day.
For those of you who worried about me, and hoped that I stayed physically well, please know that I never had any ill physical effects after I recovered from the original trauma. The worry that some of you felt, although appreciated, was not necessary because it was in that experience that I truly found who I was as a person. I like the person that I found after that day much more than the person that was the day before.
Thanks for everyone's concern and well wishes.
Mike
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