What I Didn't Learn in High School

I never learned to type. I entered high school in 1977, just before everyone knew computers were about to take over the world in a less ominous -- but just as pervasive -- way as the computers in "Terminator."

I didn't take typing because I'm not all that coordinated and I didn't want to wreck my GPA. Not that I was Harvard-bound. And I doubt I would've sunk any lower than a C in the class. But I was adamant that my time would be better spent elsewhere, like all those German and French classes I took which didn't come in all that handy even when I later visited Germany and France.

To this very day, no employer has ever inquired about my high school GPA, although my half-assed typing "skills" have elicited a derogatory comment or two. I can finally type a few words at a reasonable speed while not looking at the keyboard, although I'll always be in awe of people (meaning everyone but me) who can touch type.

I'm not someone who has a lot of regrets in life. But I do wish I would've taken typing in high school. I might even have done well in it. Actually, I would've been terrible. But it would've made the last 30 years easier.

Moral to the Story: Take a risk. And I'm an idiot.