The Navigating the Unbeaten Path.
Back in August I made a list of schools. In September I completed a list of references. By October I polished up my essay. Come November I submitted my applications. All standard practice for a senior in high school. Throughout the month of February I received acceptance letters from a handful of schools, the majority of which would have made great fits. Out of the handful I committed to a college in California to study environmental science--I wasn’t entirely sold on my major but I knew I could change it when I figured out what I actually wanted to study. After committing it was just a waiting game. The plan was to graduate, enjoy the summer with my friends, pack up, and then head to California where I would spend the next four years of my life. It was a plan akin to the majority of my peers so I didn’t expect anything to go wrong.
Having graduated, I enjoyed the summer with my friends, and by late August I had been ready to pack up when I received an email that I expected long before: my financial aid award letter. Multiple other schools sent the award letter with my acceptance letter, and I assumed that the affordability across the board would be about the same so I hadn’t considered that it could be different. However, I had been dreadfully wrong. The award letter was empty and tuition was well beyond what my family could afford. I committed to a college I couldn’t attend.
Initially, I shook off the blow. Thanks to COVID-19, I wasn’t a stranger to “pivoting,” so I rolled with it. Moreover, I knew people who opted to take a gap year so it wasn’t a foreign concept. Since I wasn’t departing for California, I was able to keep my job which was an upside. But as summer phased into a memory, I began to grasp the reality of my situation. I realized that the entire past year I had spent planning and anticipating an exciting new chapter in my life was for nothing. Without direction or friends, I became stranded here alone. I found myself in the most familiar place I know, yet I was estranged. This feeling bellowed throughout my life, social, familial, professional. The resonant frequency of my life was met, and the foundation shattered.
This was an unfortunate circumstance, however it blessed me with an abundance of time. This surplus time allowed me to think more, and one of the things I thought about the most was time; particularly how scarce it is. It became obvious that there are so many things that I want to learn, make, and contribute and if I’m not taking direct action to accomplish one of those things then my time becomes wasted potential. Becoming more diligent with my use of time, I started only focusing on matters that would translate into either present sustainability or future potential value. Matters that wouldn’t translate into some form of motivation, fulfillment, well being, or opportunity, were relinquished. In doing so, I’ve been able to hone my interests and come up with goals that will elevate those interests, as well as identify factors that might become obstacles.
Through my job as a manufacturing engineering technologist I’ve discovered my mechanical aptitude and love for developing solutions to manufacturing bottlenecks. As well as a passion for marketing and business management. Since I have identified my passions, I have set both micro and macro goals. Now I know what schools and subsequent programs I need to apply to. I know what math classes I need to supplement and what internships keep an eye out for. My life has now become a focused endeavor with a defined outcome rather than a blind trek, and it’s all because I stumbled off the beaten path.