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| A faded 2009 banquet picture. Clockwise, from upper right: Jose Balseca, Geoff Braun, Jenn Hulslander (Reese), Rebecca Zimmerman, Corey Rowell, Ryan Maloney, and Tonja Royce |
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: All the time. It is miraculous. I even have a superstition that has grown on me as a result of invisible hands coming all the time - namely, that if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be." ~ The Power of Myth
Eight years ago as a college senior, I wanted to implement an injury prevention program with our men's soccer team. I had a relationship with a professor who introduced me to the coach. To my enduring gratitude, he agreed to let me do it.
From there, I met the assistant athletic trainer. She said I should reach out to Coach Braun from the volleyball team and do the same thing. So I did. Two years later, he asked me to be the assistant volleyball coach (I had no volleyball experience at the time).
Another two years passed, and a graduate assistant position opened in our sports information department. Even though I had no idea what "sports information" was, it was the only way I could stay and coach volleyball (look at any school's athletic website -- that's sports information). So I got the position, and just happened to learn that I love writing and storytelling. Who knew?
In between, I worked at a health food store, a non-profit in Montana, a school in Alaska, and a juvenile detention center in Buffalo. Most of the time I was completely confused about where my life was heading.
The moral of the story is twofold.
One -- life is messy. You can't rush it and you can't straighten it out with a five-year plan. Better to become comfortable with the mess.
Two -- Nobody asked what my GPA was along the way. Nobody asked what classes I was taking, and hardly anyone asked what my credentials were. But I had that relationship with my professor, which initiated a cycle of trust from person to person. They opened the doors to me.
In an age when college needs to justify its existence, the importance of relationships can't be overstated.