The Return of the Short King

By Jeffrey Williams

During the pandemic, I faced hardships as any other person did at that time. I was ready for graduation and looking forward to what was next after school, but had the rug pulled out from underneath me and started to let school slip away. I stopped going essentially and focused on work. I went from graduating in December, then to May, then to not at all.

I was really just looking to get out of Amarillo at the time, and the opportunity came to me in May of 2021. I was able to move to DFW, where I lived with family for a few months while working at my new job. I was able to work with my best friend, who yes, you could say got me the job, but don’t tell him I said that.

The idea of not graduating, feeling unaccomplished, always lingered in the back of my mind. “I’ll go back and do online classes. I just need to get settled here and focus on work for the time being.” But I never started school again. Time moved forward, and I looked back less and less.

During the early months of my life in DFW, I met the woman who is now my wife. She was a MUCH better student than 2020-2021 Jeff, but that’s not hard to accomplish. Holding a master’s degree and seeking a doctorate made me regret how poorly I finished school and always encouraged me to potentially go back. We were married in 2023 and welcomed our daughter in late 2024.

Such a huge life event puts so much into perspective, and makes the world feel so much larger. This made me think back to not finishing school, and I want to have that story for my children. Mainly, that they should seek to finish any task that they begin and to be humble enough to ask for help when needed.

My wife pushed me to go back to finish my degree, and together with my daughter, they are the reason I see it through to the end. I look forward to finishing this chapter of my life and am more that thankful for all of my professors at WT for assisting me along the way.

During the pandemic, I faced hardships as any other person did at that time. I was ready for graduation and looking forward to what was next after school, but had the rug pulled out from underneath me and started to let school slip away. I stopped going essentiall, and focused on work.

I went from graduating in December, then to May, then to not at all. I was really just looking to get out of Amarillo at the time, and the opportunity came to me in May of 2021. I was able to move to DFW, where I lived with family for a few months while working at my new job. I was able to work with my best friend, who yes you could say got me the job, but don’t tell him I said that.

The idea of not graduating, feeling unaccomplished, always lingered in the back of my mind. “I’ll go back and do online classes. I just need to get settled here and focus on work for the time being.” But I never started school again. Time moved forward, and I looked back less and less.

During the early months of my life in DFW, I met the woman who is now my wife. She was a MUCH better student than 2020-2021 Jeff, but that’s not hard to accomplish. Holding a master’s degree and seeking a doctorate made me regret how poorly I finished school and always encouraged me to potentially go back.

We were married in 2023, and welcome daughter in late 2024. Such a huge life event puts so much into perspective, and makes the world feel so much larger. This made me think back to not finishing school, and I want to have that story for my children. Mainly, that they should they begin and to be humble enough to ask for help when needed.

My wife pushed me to go back to finish my degree, and together with my daughter, they are the reason I see it through to the end. I look forward to finishing this chapter of my life and am more that thankful for all of my professors at WT for assisting me along the way.