D minus again. I had gotten a D minus on yet another anatomy exam and I had studied for weeks. Maybe I am just not cut out for this, but no! I have to do the exact thing I came into college to study, right?
While I was looking for an answer to my dilemma, I received an email from one of my supervisors at work. It basically said that they loved all of the work I had been doing with Red Letter Christians and that they would love for me to be the face of the movement at events here on campus. Now I was going to have the chance to market a movement that preached the red letters of Jesus in the Bible and get people to want to support a Christ centered movement. I was elated because this was something I was really good at. Shortly after this, I began brainstorming some ideas for the movement and emailed them to one of the directors in Philadelphia and she said they were brilliant. Dr. Tony Campolo himself said that he wanted me to work for him full time after I graduated. This is when I decided, no. No I do not have to study when I came to college to study and I can change my mind.
Now I am not saying that Dr. Tony Campolo has to tell you that you are good at something for you to do it, although it sure helped me. I have had family and friends for years tell me that nursing is not quite where they felt I was fitting, but I was determined. I thought if I prayed hard enough and studied for hours, I could make it work. The terrifying moment when I called me sister still burns in my mind. I was shaking when I did it because she is the one person I trust and love more than anyone else in the world, so her approval meant everything to me. When she said she was fully supporting my decision, I knew God was putting me on the right path. Even though this was something I knew I wanted in my life, I am still unsure of exactly what it is going to look like.
The thing about a risk is that it can be the most terrifying thing that you ever do. I felt like I was failing because nursing was not for me. This feeling in the pit of my stomach that I never going to amount to anything or that I was going to end up at a minimum wage dead end job at 25, was crippling. I realized I was just being called in a new direction and I needed to be brave enough to follow it. I have lots of people giving me references and resources to be successful in my new major. I have had some negative feedback from certain family members and nursing professors, but with God on my side, I am trusting and obeying him and am looking towards great risk and great reward.
To sum it all up, taking a risk has its pros and cons but I feel that if you never try, than you will never know. If you love video games, then become a game designer. If you love teaching, then become a teacher. Take a risk and do the thing that you are afraid to try and you might surprise yourself with what you can do.
“You miss 100% of the shots that you never take”
-Wayne Gretzky
