The speech is 15 minutes long but listen carefully... It isn't about "going to college" or the "importance of a college education," but about three personal stories that paved a path for where he is today. (sorry you'll have to turn off/disable my playlist for this one)
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice, and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition; they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
I've always entrusted that everything in life happens for a reason... that the chips stack (or don't stack) the way they do, and that they fall right into place when they're suppose to. Alot of the decisions in my life have been instinctual, a strong pull from within urging me to turn left, even though my conscious thought was telling me wisely to turn right (I was extremely fortunate enough that my parents didn't make me do anything that I didnt want to do). A couple examples would be enrolling at La Sierra High School last minute vs. Centennial High School, dropping out of UCR after one quarter to enroll at RCC in hopes of becoming a Registered Nurse (which led to a rapid turn of events in itself I'd have to add), starting at UCI Medical Center vs. starting at Kaiser right away, etc, etc... I'm not saying that every decision was necessarily the right, smartest or easiest decision.. but I am saying that turn of events inevitably did lead me to where I am today.... twenty-five, alive, happily married, accomplished, financially established (with the exception of school loans), and ready for the next step!
"Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever--because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference."
And so the next step.... currently I'm loving everything about UCLA and I feel bad saying this but since my tuition is a fixed dollar amount every quarter, I'm milking the institution for every single educational opportunity and experience that presents itself to me (whether it's learning medical spanish, attending football/basketball games, or simply utilizing their gym). I know I sound like an overly excited child on her first day of kindergarten, but if you knew me back in high school... then you'd know that I was a self conscious girl who drowned in pessimistic negativity, and never ever dreamed of being good enough for anything.... So over the years I've managed to surprise myself, and just like Asher Roth proclaims, "Man I love college!" Instead of taking the minimum requirement of 8 units this quarter, I'm taking 16 units. It's insane, I know... but I like to think of it as balancing between the tight ropes of insanity and dedication. One of the nice things about my graduate program is that when it comes to the 16 units of required electives, there's no restriction whatsoever. You can take whatever you want. One of the classes I've enrolled into is in Anderson's Management school with it's primary focus being placed on networking and relationship building. In just three classes I've already learned alot about myself... hmm that again, I think I want something more... I've danced and two stepped around the idea of obtaining a concurrent MBA degree, especially since one of my good classmates has entertained the idea as well. Maybe we'll cross paths again in the future? As of right now, I've decided to hold off for a little bit, but to continue taking MBA courses to see whether or not I could get a feel for this new shoe that I'm wanting to step in to.
Alot of people have asked me about my plans after school, and quite honestly, I don't know anymore. Ideally, I'd love to remain on a part time work status so that I could 1) start having babies and 2) continue exploring and doing everything that I've been wanting to do in life. Some of you may have noticed my interest in photography and again, my intuition has been tugging me towards that direction... a sideline business just like my Dad's DJ business. Then again, I also want to open up a coffee shop, learn how to sew/knit/crochet, cook exotic dishes and desserts, get scuba certified, take up ballroom dancing, continue traveling, become a teacher at a Nursing school, become a positive nursing leader, maybe design clothes with my brother, etc, etc my bucket list goes on and on (and you can see the importance of some MBA courses here, hehe) .. Yep, lots of "foolish" aspirations some might say.
I know I'm still young with the advantage of "time" on my hands... but I hope I never lose this feeling... of being hungry and foolish.
"You've got to find what you love, and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it, and like any great relationship it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking. Don't settle."
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