Lives on the Boundary by Mike Ross

            When given a vast amount of material and being told to understand it with a minimal amount of guidance and support, a person may get extremely overwhelmed and not hesitate to consider giving up. In the story "Lives On The Boundary", The author, Mike Rose, talks about his past when he had just started attending Loyola University and the difficulties he had to face in the beginning because he did not think he could keep up with all of the material that was given to him. Through his years in college, Rose was taught to "enter the conversation", meaning that he was given the guidance by his college professors to overcome his fears of "being stupid" and actually start developing the tools to succeed in the tasks he had said that he would not be able to accomplish. Going from barely passing grades in his first year of college, to getting straight A's in his third year, Rose learned in order to succeed in the American Educational system, you need support and understanding from your seniors and your peers. I could relate what Rose went through to my own life because I had a very similar situation in which I needed guidance from others to accomplish the goals I had set for myself. But instead of it being the field of philosophy like Rose, it was in the field of physical growth and fitness.
             When he first started out college, Rose implies that he and his friend john were not interested in the atmosphere of Loyola University, whether it was the people or the social groups on campus, they stayed isolated and critical of the students who enjoyed being involved in school activities. Comparing the work he was given in college to the work he did in high school, he knew that he was going to have a hard time grasping the material. I do not think it is entirely his fault because the way the education system is set up, it has more students fear information rather than thrive to comprehend it, and that is because not all professors know the difference between teaching something and giving material to students and expecting them to learn it.