The Words of Others

I'm very cautious about whose advice I solicit, and even more cautious when accepting unsolicited advice. Worrying only about my own standards, my own goals, and my own objectives makes life a lot easier to live.

Yesterday while standing on the bus stop, I had a conversation with a random woman. She noticed that I had waved to a shuttle driver, and to a fellow student.

"You go to Loyola?"
"Yes, I do."
"What are you studying?"
"Communications."
"You know what you want to do with that?"
"I want to be on television, I want to be a reporter."

She then talked to me about some of the local stations, some of the local talent, and some potential places I might want to intern.

"Where'd you go to high school?"
"McDonogh."
"After going there you could have gone anywhere."

Then I explained to her the factors that went into my decision.

"I had wanted to go to Howard or Temple, Loyola was my third choice. They gave me the most money and I figured if they were willing to invest in me, I could bite the bullet and stay in Baltimore."

We talked more about my experiences, my career objectives, and where I might want to live. Discussing my college experience with her made me meditate as I often do on the "What if?"
What if I had gone to Temple?
What if I had gone to Howard, my dream school?

She told me about her goddaughter who'd gone to Temple and not Spelman, and her daughter who'd gone to Michigan State, which is so far away from her home in Baltimore. She talked about how the decision for her goddaughter had been difficult. She talked about how her daughter knew she was doing what was best for her.

"You're where you need to be. Everything happens for a reason. You're right where you need to be."

Those were words I couldn't take with a grain of salt. It was refreshing to be reminded why optimism is so very important!