Testing out the waters

Last week The Truth About the Fact had it’s annual REAL TALK event on campus. This year we gathered to listen to four panelists from a variety of careers discuss what it takes to be a powerful woman and what exactly one must give up to get there.

The room started out quite empty and minutes before it was supposed to start I got that rotten feeling in my gut that this was going to be some disastrous flop. Yet slowly people made their way into the venue and before I knew it seats were full, windows were foggy and a low murmur hung over the crowd. After shakily introducing two of the panelists I sat back and tried to enjoy the rest of the event.

It wasn’t until after the poems were read, the DJ spun and the panelists shared their experiences and their advice that I had one of those exciting “ah-ha” moments. You see, I’m an English major. I love reading, love writing and truly enjoy going to class, but I’m currently having a mid-college crisis (yes it exists) which causes me to imagine myself living at home for the rest of time trying to figure out what to do with an bachelors degree in English. My peers ask me what I’m going to do when I graduate (which luckily is over a year away) mostly because people think an English major is worthless, but I plan on doing what majority of the graduating class plans on doing, finding a job and supporting myself.

Regardless of the common justification of my choice of major to peers and myself I do often worry about what’s next. Thus, leading to my “ah-ha” moment. As I listened to these powerful and brilliant women speak I noticed a consistency in their stories. They didn’t wait, they were driven and they didn’t let a few mistakes ruin their climb. And then, one of the panelist’s husbands who I spoke to gave me the best advice of all, “just hop in the river”. He noticed my confused expression and began to explain his brilliant idea. If you’re standing on the side of the river and need to get down to the bottom, you can’t just sit and watch the water move, you have to hop into the flow and get swept away.

For college students, this time in our lives is exciting but nerve racking to say the least. It is arguably the greatest adventure thus far. So, while I will admit I have no idea what river is calling my name, I’m about to throw on my bathing suit, lather up some sunscreen, buy a floaty and test the waters.

Cheers,
Hannah