I’m a big quotations junkie. So much so that one of my favorite Christmas presents each year is a Quotable Calendar full of wonderful quotations and brilliance that I get to display on my wall. One of my favorites was from March:
1. the path is not straight.
2. mistakes need not be fatal.
3. people are more important than achievements or possessions.
4. be gentle with your parents.
5. never stop doing what you care most about.
6. learn to use a semicolon.
7. you will find love.
— Marion Winik
Today, I experienced nearly all of these (although I’m unsure if I used a semicolon at all). I got THE e-mail from Teach For America regarding their decision. Their decision about the next two years of my life. Oh, yeah, minor details. Anyway, I got it at about 11:00am this morning, and do you know what it said? “We are not able to extend you an offer to join the 2011 corps.”
Well, that sucked. But as I sat upstairs in the SUB calling/texting/Facebooking/seeing friends, I literally felt the Puget Sound community rally up underneath me. My path won’t be as straight as I thought it might be, but this one slip-up is certainly not fatal. After all, it’s the PEOPLE and my own passions (learning, growing, traveling, meeting new people) that dictate success. Not the job position.
A couple of my friends here and on other campuses were offered positions with the corps, and I have no doubt that they will be incredible teachers and change the lives of their students in incredible ways. But me? I’ll find another way to change the world. To leave my mark. And to be happy. And who knows? Maybe I’ll even learn how to use a semicolon while I’m at it!
Back to the Post-Graduation-Oh-Crap-I’m-A-Senior Drawing Board!