I would like to inspire you, as I believe you will inspire me.
Recently, I was speaking with a young lady, a freshman in college, and she conveyed to me that she felt without direction. She had no idea what she was doing, or even why she was in school, and she wanted me to tell her how I got to where I am. Honestly, it was hard for me to look at myself, but I gave her the clearest explanation that I could.
I don’t believe that anything I have done up to this point has been luck. My actions are a reflection of my desire to gain what I have defined as my American Dream: a comfortable life. To this end, I realized that no one would ever give me this dream, and if I wanted it, I would need to work for it.
That is what I have done.
At first, I didn’t want to go to college, but I was pushed into it. I’ll admit, I resented the push in the beginning, but gaining my degree in French with a minor in Information Systems gave me a level of pride that I hadn’t felt before. Though, I do not believe I felt pride only because of a college degree as I worked part-time through college. The skills I gained from my jobs made me a stronger person – even if the struggle to do work and school exhausted me – and each job I have done has been an improvement from the previous job. However, I have not stopped improving myself.
Whenever I feel as though I have stopped growing, I change something in my life. In the last year or so, I proved my lineage to my American Revolution Patriot. At the same time that I was proving my lineage, I decided that I wanted to pursue a graduate degree in Information Systems.
Why so much? To me, it became, why so little? I can’t explain what drives me, all I know is that I feel like there is always something more that I can do.
The young lady I told all of this to was probably overwhelmed, as I’m sure my explanation turned into more of a monologue, and yet, she was inspired. And in return, I felt inspired also.
What I want to do is to help others, and the best way I have found to do that is to talk to them: find out what they want, what they hope for, and in the end, recognize what they are capable of and help them to understand their capabilities.
Kiminy Cricket 