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A Story by James Owens
It’s funny how quickly decisions
change.
Is there such a thing as certain?
A certainty could be broken within a matter of: months, days, or even seconds.
All my life I knew I wanted to be a sports broadcaster. Sports was my life; if I wasn’t playing sports, I was watching or talking about it. It seemed like a perfect fit.
Growing up, I spent a lot of time around my uncle, who was a sportscaster at a small TV station in Pennsylvania and, whilst applying to schools, I focused my search around schools that would help me to one day excel in that field.
I chose Monmouth University, a small school, but one with big connections in even bigger cities.
I was so excited for my first day of class that I could barely sleep. I felt like a kid on Christmas, eagerly counting the minutes until “Santa” came. 9 am. Finally! I felt like I was floating, instead of walking, to class. Day one of my dream coming true. I was going to make a huge impression.
I opened the door…
What?
It felt as if I were in a fun house, looking at 25 mirror images of myself, casting a reflection of superficial qualities. I have never before viewed myself in this light, and it was something that I was not proud of. The tiny room was filled with showmanship and egotism. The daunting question I was always so quick to brush off echoed in my head.
What would you like to do for the rest of your life?
As a naive eighteen year old, I believed I would attend Monmouth for four years, graduate with a degree and land my dream job within months of graduation.
I had placed this profession on such a high pedestal that it had little chance at success.
Eventually, I returned home in pursuit of a new direction.
Nothing is certain.