I think we can all agree that we have experienced an addiction to Netflix at some point in our lives. Whether it was brief, came in waves, or began four years ago and has yet to die. I, Danyel Meahan, was a Netflix addict at the age of fourteen. I didn't pick up a book once that year.
Finally, high school came around and I began to recover. The hassle of school work, sports, and figuring out what I wanted to do with my life ended my addiction completely. Sure, I would rewatch an episode of Gossip Girl here and there, but never more than one episode at a time in fear that I would fall off the deep end.
In the summer approaching my senior year of high school, my friend told me that I had to watch the first season of a show called The Carrie Diaries. Intrigued that it was a prequel to Sex and the City, I told her I would. I was blessed with the free time of summertime so I gave it a go.
I was obsessed immediately. Yep, I even broke my rule of watching one episode at a time. Surprisingly, I wasn't ashamed. I was excited that I finally found someone like me. Her name was Carrie Bradshaw.
Growing bored of her teenage life in the suburbs of Connecticut, Carrie agrees to intern at a Manhattan law firm one day a week. Just when she thought her love for the city couldn't grow any larger, she discovers a way her passion for writing could become a reality in the city that never sleeps.
At this point, I knew I loved to write. However, I wasn't sure if I had what it takes to become big. So, I took after Carrie and I began a diary. Every night I wrote about the lesson I learned that day, my fears, my insecurities, my friends and their wild experiences, me and my inexperience, and him of course.
By writing every night in a journal that only my eyes could see, I knew I wanted to become a writer for the public. I did it, I found my passion. This is why I am grateful for Netflix.
The night I finished the last episode of The Carrie Diaries my journal entry focused on the lesson I learned that night. I wrote about how a person's passion could be hidden anywhere. It could be across the country, a mile down the road, or right in front of their face.
To the college students that still don't know what they want to do with their lives, go explore. Your passion is waiting for you to find it.
