(Warning: Potential Triggers)
Little known fact, I was meant to be a twin. But shortly into my mom’s pregnancy, the other cluster of cells that might have been another human being ruptured and the cluster of cells that some how managed to make me continued to be a cluster of cells long enough for brain stems to grow and I evolved somewhere along the way.
When I was three, I was playing tag with my cousin in my grandparent’s house, and I slipped and fell and split the back of my head open on a corner.
When I was seven in the second grade, my father and I were in a head-on collision with a pick-up truck. The guy had a broken leg, a broken wrist, three broken bones, and a concussion. My dad broken his neck.
And I walked away with a split lip and some missing teeth.
I’ve never broken a bone in my body, only severe sprains, and the scar on my mouth from the crash isn’t visible any more.
But at the same time, I’ve always been acutely aware of impending death. Which sounds like a broad statement, but I’ve always worked hard to prepare for the worst, or even the best. I have absolutely no idea the direction I want to go in life, but I hope that through my hard work, hours of studying, internships, tried my damnedest to network, and gain real life experience– maybe, I will be put in the right place in the right time.
If I understood him correctly, that’s what Reid means about being proactive, about having an energized mind. Because let’s face it, growing up the world definitely seemed like it had a grudge against my entire existence as a human being. If I don’t take up every opportunity, if I don’t engage with every person that comes across my path, then it’s a real slap to the face to whoever has had my karmic back all these years.
Recently, I was turned down for a position at Make a Wish. Opposed to making 42K a year, learning from a man with 25 years of non profit experience, and staying in gorgeous Burlington Veront with my two best friends, I’m going home to live in Texas with my mom. Not exactly the dream story to celebrate after graduation. That being said, I’ve got a job lined up in Austin that will actually pay pretty decently. My brother, 17 years old, actually texted me out of the blue and said he’s really looking forward to becoming better friends. The friends I was going to room with– it looks like they’re not going to stay in Burlington either– regardless of my decisions.
I’m not saying that Fate is directly leading me down a certain path and I’m not saying I’m bursting down every door on which opportunity knocks. But damn, at the end of the day, “que sera sera”, and if Doris Day AND the founder of LinkedIn agree on this, maybe I have to as well.