One spur of the moment decision in college changed my whole life. It was a moment where I felt uncomfortable, embarrassed, scared, and all the butterflies were in my stomach. I made the risky choice and my life changed forever.
By the end of college, I realized my purpose was to make the lives of current and future students better. I did this in myriad ways but one of the principal ones was as a member of the student government. I can honestly say that student government led me to this mission and this mission informed much of my success, joy, and deep connections through college. By senior year, most days I was filled with pride, confidence, gratitude, and love. So how did one decision lead to all that? I’ll tell you. It was the second week of freshman year at the club fair. I passed the student government table and they told me I should run for freshman representative. They said I needed to fill out a form and get 50 signatures. I had met a lot of new people but not fifty so I said something polite and walked away feeling safe. Suddenly, I had a creative idea. As I went around the event signing up for clubs I could also get the students at the tables to sign my packet. It would be easy to get fifty that way. Then there was the moment. A moment of being on the fence. A moment filled with panic at the thought of looking stupid while getting signatures, being awkward campaigning, and feeling dejected losing. But also knowing that risks are good. I might regret this decision. And a gut feeling telling me to do what by body feared most. It was so easy to do nothing and be safe. Instead, I dared myself to try. I went back to get the packet.
That year I became freshman representative by one vote and I started giving my time to the present and future students. That purpose got me through a tough college with personal confidence. Person confidence to take on the world and bend it to help others.
::It is often the decisions you are the most uncomfortable, embarrassed, and scared about that should be taken::