I've never really considered self expression through blogging. People keep journals or just a constant mental note, but I decided to start open expression through this new blog. Only thanks to my best friend Hailey, whose "Doses of Laughter" help me get through my day sometimes. I feel this is the best way to express what I experience in my everyday life because some people see me as just the girl who brings them their morning coffee and breakfast, but there is more to me than that. I am a student who strives to accomplish something different everyday.
Life isn't always what you except. I come into contact with people everyday, mostly through my job as a waitress. Some are new faces, some are consistent, but everyday there is new conversation and new opportunities for self reflection. Today while I was sitting enjoying a cup of coffee, a man came and sat down next to me at the counter. I see him in work a lot, but in the commotion of the morning breakfast rush, I've never really had in depth conversation with him. I said "good morning," and proceeded to read through my accounting notes to prepare for a test I have this afternoon. I took a short break to enjoy my coffee. He noticed my notebook and asked me if accounting was my degree. I said yes and then the conversation really took off...
We discussed opportunity in the Richmond area and then I pondered the idea of looking outside Richmond for work. He talked about his life experiences and the travel he did as a freshly graduated University of Illinois student, taking jobs in different states and moving around, but the important part of everything he went through were the experiences he had that made him who he is today. I could sit here and type of the entire conversation, but it wasn't the whole conversation that changed my view point.... It was a few key points that I think everyone should read...
1. Taking an opportunity outside of your comfort zone.... This gives you a push to be more independent. Whether that be moving out of state and having to start over and find the local grocery store, start a new job, and make new friends OR taking steps to move past old situations and open new doors and take that daring jump to do something crazy you never thought you would do OR joining organizations to broaden your horizons even if you think you already have a full plate of work, school, and social activities. Either way you look at it, if you can give yourself the push to do something daring, you're already a little bit more successful than yesterday.
2. Taking away experiences from those opportunities you've taken... It doesn't matter how many places you go, if you can't open your mind to learning new things you simply can't be anymore successful than you already are.
3. Life is a like a game of pool.... you can set up the cue ball to make the perfect shot into the pocket you want to but if the cue ball doesn't set up your next shot, consider it a lost game. Or in other words, if you take an opportunity in life and "make the object ball in the pocket you want," make sure it's an opportunity that helps you be better at the next opportunity you're given, or make sure your "cue ball" is set up for a future door to open that gives you a better opportunity than before. If you don't take anything away from the experiences you've encountered, you won't find greater successes in life.
... Being a student, everyday I learn something new, but I don't think I will ever take away any of this from a semester in class. I'm not just a waitress, student, or an average 23 year old. No one is average and no one can be defined by what they do in their daily routines, it's what you take away from the experiences you have in those daily routines. You may think it's routine, but something different happens everyday and you must learn from those different experiences. You can't always live with no regrets, but you can grow from your mistakes and learn to be better than your last failure.
