In one of the first conversations that my roommate Sam and I had he made a remark about my process of finding and applying for jobs in the area. There had been a really great opportunity at The Watt Space Gallery in Newcastle specifically for students and I hesitated to apply because it looked too intimidating – especially for someone who had little to no actual experience working in a gallery. It didn’t take long after telling him this that he told me “You’ll never know if you don’t put your name in the hat.”
Of course I had heard this sort of advice before. The whole “You lose 100% of the shots you don’t take” kind of thing, but it wasn’t until that moment that the idea of putting my name in the hat really stuck. To some extent I feel like I can say that I am where I am now because of putting my name into hats that I didn’t believe would actually be successful endeavors. Over the last two years I have applied myself to those situations and have been able to make the best of them and grow significantly from them, even though I never believed they would actually be allowed to happen.
Some of the most amazing things that have happened to me have happened because I acted with bravery and put my name into unlikely hats. My enrollment at Rollins, my position at OCA, the exhibition at the Dr Phillips Center, and even this very experience have all been harvested from those hats.
The universe is funny like that.
After our conversation I began to put my name into hats that I was actually interested in. Since then I’ve applied for significant positions, such as therapist assistant at an ABA clinic, a librarian assistant, and a volunteer coordinator. Even though it may be unlikely that I get certain positions and even though this may result in a job that is actually a great challenge, I believe that the stars will align just as they are supposed to and lead me to precisely where I am supposed to be.
Until Next Time….
P.s. please forgive my less than eloquent writing, it’s like 10 pm and I am drained…………….