Chapter 22

 

Chapter 22:

Missing Opportunities:

Gaining Motivation

 

I’m mostly a positive person. Optimism has always been a part of my life. Life is a gift from God and being positive when life is in the dumps is the best way to overcome obstacles.

Even though I try to stay positive through everything, missing opportunities really gets to me.

This chapter is a challenge for me.  

 

Have you ever heard the saying, “when one door closes, another one opens?” Chances are you have heard it once or probably multiple times. I believe that the cliché has great significance, but I want to open your eyes to something bigger.

Imagine a house. A house that has one door and one window. The door is nothing special, the window is small, and looks like something you would have drawn in the third grade.

Imagine you want the house. You want the house so badly, but you can’t enter the house until you purchase it. You are allowed to look in the house through the window, but that is the only thing that can influence your decision. When you finally get a good look through the window, you decide that it is beautiful and it is all you have ever dreamed of having.

You seek advice. Before you make a fairly large offer on the house you seek advice from your closest relatives, friends, and lastly a loan officer. After determining the best financial offer, you cross your fingers and go all in.

Weeks or months pass. Finally you receive a call from the real estate agent. She explains to you that your offer was rejected and that there is no need for a counteroffer. The house can never be yours. You will never have to chance to open the door and enter what YOU thought was your dream house.

Anger and discouragement feels your soul. You can’t believe something you thought to be so perfect is not going to work out. The house/opportunity was perfect in your eyes.

Step back, and breathe. Then you remember looking in the window. YOU looked, and YOU thought YOU saw. God didn’t see that as your dream house, but YOU saw. Then you smile, and realize God has a greater plan. Maybe not right now, but it’s coming. God knows where your dream house is located, he’s has the spot picked out for years. As you think about it you get cold chills. Its God taking over. God is reassuring you to have faith and press on. He encourages you to keep looking because one day he’ll reveal that house/opportunity/life that you have been searching for. It’s not in this neighborhood; it’s in God’s neighborhood.

The other night I was lying in bed and these thoughts came to me. They came to me on the same day that I was rejected from the GLOBE program here at UNC. The study abroad program was something that I truly believed was for me. I was planning ahead so that I could financially afford the opportunity, and I knew it would be a life changing experience. Then I was rejected. Just like in the house analogy. God didn’t see me going abroad for a year, but something different. What? I am not sure of at the moment, but I believe it will be more of a life changing experience than GLOBE ever could have been.

Being denied from the GLOBE program doesn’t mean that I am not accepted into the business school; it just means I will be in Chapel Hill for my junior year. I will also hear back from the business school about admission later this year.

God has been speaking to me in a number of different ways this year. Through it all he has reassured me that I am truly in a great place. The GLOBE program was not for me. However, God blessed me with so many opportunities as a freshman, which makes me believe and have faith. That house with the small window is for sale, but God hasn’t revealed it to me just yet.

Chapter 21

Finding Passion:

Easier than it looks

 

And it was just like that. I was back in the swing of things, writing to-do-lists on notecards for the following day, going to class, working a new job, and playing basketball anytime I had the chance. I’ve always heard that “time flies when you’re having fun” and oh is that so true. However, since I am now on my second year of a college, time flying by is just another reminder that the “real world” is just around the corner.

Since this so called “real world” is just around the corner I would like to help you find your passion if you haven’t already found it.

Finding your passion: I believe everyone has a passion in life, no matter what! Although it takes some people more time to find it than others, all people have a passion in life. I was able to find my passion for business early in life, but I am not exactly which field I would like to enter at the moment.

If you’re confused about life and what your purpose should be, I want to encourage you. It is so easy to get discouraged in college when you hear about other people’s hopes and dreams.  In order to find your passion you must explore. Remember back when you were a little kid? And your parents may have forced you to play a sport or two that you didn’t enjoy? Well, in a way that is how you find your passion. You MUST try everything that interests you! So if you hear/see something on campus that makes you stop and say “hmmm that’s cool” you GO. You don’t sit in your little comfort zone in your dorm room, but you explore like you’re a little kid.

When I give my tours on campus I always tell the prospective students this; “When you move in, you begin your application for your job,” most of the students don’t understand why I am telling them this. Although I always get a head nod from the parents. When I came in to college with that attitude it made everything go so smoothly. Build your resume you’ll hear, but there is no reason to wait until your junior or senior year. College provides you with too many resources to not find your passion some way or another.

By getting involved my eyes have been opened to a number of different possible career choices. When I worked for the Daily Tar Heel I was able to hear from people that were entering the advertising field, when involved with the marketing club I participated in a marketing project, and as an ambassador my public speaking skills have seen a huge improvement. The best aspect about getting involved with organizations or jobs that relate to your interest is the people that come with it. By listening to other people you really can figure out your passion. For instance, anytime I talk to someone about a start-up company idea they have, my body feels energized. It’s a weird feeling, but you’ve either felt it one day or you will soon. My passion for business is unreal, and my hope is that you find it, heck I know you will!

 

As I continue to chase my passion, I must prepare to take another step on achieving one of my goals. On Tuesday September 24, I have my interview for the Kenan-Flagler Business School. If you don’t remember, being accepted to the school is number two on my goals to being successful. I have been anticipating this interview since I arrived in Chapel Hill. I believe that the interview will go great, but at the moment I am still a bit nervous. Only because this is the last chance I have to show the KFBS that I have what it takes to be a part of their prestigious school. Sometimes your passion can lead you to difficult tasks, but work hard, believe you’ll achieve it and there is nothing more you can do. The only other thing I could do is practice my interview skills, in which I have had plenty of in this past year. I went after my passion and opportunites that sparked my interest in which most had interviews.

Never forget that you have a passion. Even if you don’t see it yet, it is there hiding under your skin. You have to go out and find it by trying anything and everything. Also don’t get discouraged by people sharing their dreams, other dreams should encourage you. When I hear another person’s dreams or passions I always see excitement. When you find that excitement your college experience will become even more satisfying.

Hey, stop reading! You have a passion to find!!!