This past school year, one of my journalism professors gave advice to my entire class about how to become good journalists. Many things were said such as: always ask questions, always carry your notepad, always be professional, etc. But the one thing she said that really stuck with me was how important it was to be resilient. Out of all the advice that was given in that one 75-minute class, this was what I really took away from the presentation and it’s because I know that resiliency is not something I am good at. When a situation doesn't go the way I had anticipated or hoped for, I have a hard time dealing with it. I find myself having trouble letting it go and moving on especially when it was an opportunity that could have helped me advance my career and life.
Throughout this past year I have realized how important being resilient is and how not being resilient can really hurt you. Opportunities are going to come and go and taking advantage of all the opportunities presented to you is very important, but what is also important is being ready when some of those opportunities fall through. What I have began to realize is that by not being resilient you are only hurting yourself. It’s really similar to holding a grudge: by holding a grudge or dwelling on something that went wrong you are only keeping yourself from moving forward and looking for the next opportunity.
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Resiliency also means being aggressive. My professor told a story of a time when she was at a conference trying to get an interview with someone who was not available for interviews. Instead of giving up, she ran after the speaker as they were getting into their car to leave and ended up being invited to get in the car for an exclusive interview no one else had gotten the chance to have. Without being resilient, moving up in a career field can be much harder than it needs to be. To me, resiliency is not letting anything slow you down or get in your way from getting what or where you want to be.
Though resilient is not a characteristic I possess right now, I know one day I will. It just means to keep fighting for what I want and not getting upset when something stands in my way.
