A Dynamic Mentality

So just recently, I got slapped

Not in the way you think though… I was slapped with the truth.

Alright, let me back track a bit… I had some time to kill before my next class and on some days, I’m on campus all day. I had remembered that I needed to see a college advisor to ask them something that I had noticed on my transcript. I paid more attention to this because I am graduating soon and will be transferring to another college. So I signed in and waited until the next counselor was available.

Boy, did I get more than what I was asking for.

Enter a no-bullshit counselor.

“And what is your name, young lady?”

“Karen”

I follow this counselor into their office. I set down my stuff and I asked them a question regarding my transcript, to which they answered with a simple solution and the next thing I was asked was where I was applying, what my major is, normal things that advisers ask. The conversation somehow lead to me talking about a study abroad opportunity that I wanted to do, along with many more opportunities that I have been given in just a week into the new year. What is in bold are the truths that I was slapped with.

“Oh so you think that *insert opportunity here* just popped out of thin air.”

I stared at them, they stared back at me. I’m so serious.When I first thought of receiving a unique opportunity, I honestly thought it that it came pretty much out of nowhere. However, I realized later that it was because of my academic achievement so far at this school. Furthermore, it was because I was affiliated with an honor society that grants opportunities like studying abroad and taking courses at very well-known institutions, among many other unique experiences that students can take advantage of.

“Look, you know what you want…”

They then tell me that while I am a communications major I can “win people over” with my words, but that I can’t fool them when it comes to body language. Which is fair because I noticed that in some things I talked about I got more animated when I explained what each opportunity was about. They noticed that I smiled when I talked about going to school in one area in particular… The New England area.

I love the area very much, I have gone in and around the area on multiple occasions and have fallen in love more each time.

If I went to school in this area, I could have better opportunities for jobs and unique experiences than local universities nearby. To me, I think taking advantage of applying to schools in the New England area would be well worth it. It’s a risk that I should take. If I have a chance to be a part of something so much bigger than myself, why should I wait? What was holding me back?

“… Articulate what you want, before someone gives you something they think you want.”

This right here was the mother of all slaps. I feel like each of the little quotes that I have in bold, have led to this big one right here. It’s almost as if I was running around with my head chopped off, looking for answers to my situation, when the answer was so simple and much closer than I had imagined.

Maybe some part of me knew exactly what to do, but wasn’t sure how to go about it. What that talk did to me was motivate me. It motivated me to become more assertive in the things that I wanted to do. Things that I shouldn’t even be putting on the back burner, like unique opportunities to study abroad!

More importantly, I learned that I shouldn’t take these things lightly. It is only a matter of time before I get handed something that someone else thinks would be great for me. Getting something that another person thinks I want, wouldn’t be as rewarding or worthwhile as the opportunity I have gotten through the honor society.

This counselor summed it all up by explaining to me that in order to get what I want, I have to be honest in what it is I want and that I have to make a transaction. When you’re out at a store, you can’t just pick up something, look at it, then put it back and have the nerve to say you made a transaction. In reality, did you really make that transaction? No.

So make that transaction! Pick up that opportunity, inquire about it, and take a leap of faith in knowing what you want!

After that day, I realized that I needed someone to tell me the honest and brutal truth. As wild and amazing as it sounds, I feel like the universe and God have come together and given me a nice thing called the truth. In life, we all deserve someone who will tell us what it is that we should hear and more importantly, to be pushed in the right direction.

Find what you want to do and articulate it, make it known what it is that you want to accomplish.

Much love and strength,

Karenn