"Come Home Then"

Reading about students' reflections on their math experiences by Yolanda A. Johnson.

Johnson talked about how in pursuit of her doctoral degree, she called her dad. Her dad said nonchalantly, "come home then." The quote stayed on her mind.

Johnson explained, "come home, then" meant come home to the "safety net", a zone of comfort. The zone of comfort is a place of love and acceptance, but perhaps not a place for development.

Through those simple words, her dad inspired her to do the opposite. He was encouraging her, "Don't talk about it, be about it."

In the end she got her Ph.D and so wrote about this in retrospect.