The beauty of the Pursuit of Happiness is that no matter who you are, where you live, what you know, when you were born, or who you love, you can be happy. True happiness is above the five W’s and so are you. Learn how to find happiness in the good and bad times of life. Believe it. Read it. Be happy.
Joe Douglas
– Editor-in-Chief –
Opportunity is invisible to the naked eye. It comes and goes, but it doesn’t make itself known until it’s already gone. Therefore, as a tribute to this one-and-a-half-year-old column, here is a definitive guide to discovering opportunity before it’s too late.
An opportunity is anything that, if taken, contributes to a greater goal. The greater goal can be a career, marriage, a sport title, or anything substantial. Opportunities make these greater goals possible.
The greatest resource available to students is opportunity. It comes in the form of clubs, jobs, classes, schools, awards and relationships. Opportunity is everywhere but everyone, including the writer of this column, misses out on them from time to time.
The opportunities people choose to invest in are key to their future success, so it’s more important for college students than any other age group to start looking around and finding stuff to do. Focusing on one thing alone is a terrible idea, whether it’s schoolwork or video games. Opportunities are everywhere.
Many opportunities are obvious, like the ones provided above. Others are well hidden. For example, leaving a job (for any reason) can feel defeating, but that next job could be so much better. I struggled in my first semester of Meramec when I was working at Washington University. It was high-pressured and I wasn’t ready for that environment. I was also working anywhere from 15 to 35 hours per week and taking 16 credit hours. My weeks were unpredictable and I couldn’t join any clubs with that workload. I left after my first year at Meramec and joined Phi Theta Kappa and became a student ambassador. I didn’t exactly have another job I could turn to, so I found opportunity to develop my skills in clubs. After losing that one obligation, my life opened up for so much more. I made many friends and became more outgoing than I thought possible. One year after I left my job at WASHU I became the editor-in-chief of the Montage, an opportunity I didn’t see coming until the day my advisor brought up the opportunity.
Then there is opportunity within opportunity. While on the Montage, I’ve had the option to travel around the country to journalism conferences where I learned about media law, networking and leadership. Further opportunities to use what I learned followed.
The bottom line here is: opportunity is everywhere. It’s in success, it’s in loss, and it’s within other opportunities. It can be found in activities or people. Never count out anything or anyone. Always consider the options and opportunity will follow. Jumping on an opportunity can be just as difficult as finding it. It takes courage and sacrifice. On the other hand, it could very well be an easy transition.
The summer is full of opportunities. Think about the greater goal and consider what activities are available that will make reaching that goal easier or quicker. This summer, I will transfer to Mizzou where I will find new opportunities to become a motivational author and speaker. For anyone who will still be at Meramec when next fall comes around, remember: there is opportunity in everything. As my opportunity at the Montage comes to a close, I welcome the next one.
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