Some call it luck, some all it divine providence, I call it meant to be. It’s not everyday that things work out the way you want them to especially in quirky ways that seem too good to be true. That happened to me last night though, and seriously though I know God works in mysterious ways, He showed me yesterday that anything can happen. You never know what you expect.
It all started back in November, 4 months ago when DJ Tiesto announced his tour and his stop at the BJC on Penn State’s campus. When I heard that he was coming, I knew I had to go and shared the same sediment with my friends Matty and Tyler. We bought our Floor tickets when they went on sale. Then Tiesto was hurt, so he had to reschedule. At the time I wasn’t sure of my class schedule, so I held onto my ticket. Of course, though, luck would have it that I had my latest class on that day from 6-9pm.
I waffled on the idea of skipping class and saying that I was sick because I could make up the weekly quiz by writing a summary. I waffled on this for a good 2 months before I finally decided to be a responsible student 2 days before the concert and advertised my ticket for sale on Facebook. I easily sold the ticket for what I paid for it and was happy knowing that at least if I couldn’t go that I got my money back.
Yesterday, the 26th was the concert. I show up for class along with about 10 other classmates. As time got closer, and we realized that half of the class was missing, we all checked our emails to find out that class had been canceled because of the nasty sleet that was happening outside.
At that moment, I got a sense of rage inside. I don’t often get angry, but that just sent me over the top. Thinking to myself that being responsible had bitten me in the butt, I said, “I can’t believe I sold my ticket yesterday.” I took a deep breath knowing that now my friends would be at the concert without me. One of my cohort then says to me, “Do you want a ticket?”
I thought “Eh, that can’t be true, she has to be kidding with me.” But I was wrong. She said, “my husband works at the box office, I can get you a ticket.” As surprised as I was, I quickly obliged, and she called her husband and told me that the ticket would at the will call window.
What are the odds of that? I got to go to the concert for free. She was a lifesaver. I got to go with my friends who after months of my waffling accepted the fact that I was going to be a responsible adult and go to class like I was supposed to. It all worked out. It was meant to me.
Situations like this make me wonder, a lot actually about how things like this happen. Is it luck? Is there something out there greater than me that put us in the same place at the same time? Could it have just been meant to be? Whatever the case, it makes me take a step back and think about the good Karma that happened there. I knew in my heart what I should do which was go to class. I followed my heart, and the reward was tremendous. It’s not all the time that things happen this way, but wouldn’t that be nice?
I don’t know if I’ve become more deep over the past year or so, but I just think that this grad school program has made such an impact on my life. It may be corny to say, but throughout this process of learning how to help others, I’ve really helped myself. I have gotten to know myself on a deeper level than I ever thought possible. I have reflected on my own actions over and over because of numerous assignments and it has given me a greater appreciation for who I am as a person. That’s something that I think a lot of people struggle with: finding an identity.
We all know that have a niche in the world but some people have a harder time finding it than others. We go through this constant rethinking process as a teenager all the way into adulthood for some trying to figure out just who we really are and if we like that person. That’s half the battle right there. Throughout my high school career and my undergrad I have really gotten to see just how much I didn’t know myself genuinely, truly, deeply. I now have a more well-rounded view of myself and how I view the world.
If there is one thing that I think that holds true for mostly everyone is that the past influences the present. We go on past experiences of how we should view that world, how we should interact with other people and how we should view ourselves. We can often get caught up in the past and what has happened, but when we fully accept what has happened and us it as a learning experience, we can realize our full potential for the future.
I’m not saying that just because you don’t go through a counseling program that you don’t know who you are or like yourself, I’m just saying that for me I’ve realized that I found my fit, my niche, and I’m glad that half the battle is over. I want to continue to grow in this self-discovery and not to lose any part of myself from this point on. I hope that everyone can realize just how valuable they are.
“To me you are heaven’s finest invention by far, even brighter than the brightest star, oh what I’ve give to make you see, who you are to me.” 🙂