Who knows if we’re prepared to reevaluate things when the timing is right, or if our life circumstances drive us to explore things once overlooked, but as I ran this morning, I started to think about my story entering student affairs (and came across this old post on Mallory Bowers’ blog earlier today). Thinking back over my story, I paused at the thought that it was “so similar” to many other professionals that have entered the field…and the trouble with this kind of an impression or undertone in our work; that we are all alike, that there is always “a conversation about ‘exploring an interest in doing what I do for a living’” with a trusted advisor or mentor.
While this may have been a catalyst moment, it’s not the moment- it’s not the whole story. It simply can’t be. I got involved in the first place because I had a miserable high school experience, and I was lost. I took advantage of college because I saw it as a time to get to know myself, to gain confidence in the leader I was hiding, and to take a bold step by challenging what I thought I knew about the world and my place in it.
Now all of those things make up the frame and approach I have to my work- they are my story. And while I will always credit my student organization advisor (Chuck Stanley) as the person who enlightened me to a field that I was previously unaware of, but in my own story I found what I had been looking for…an opportunity to create meaningful experiences and self-discovery for students who may be struggling to find their voice, or their confidence, or broadly, to help them discover who they are.
All this to say, we all have a unique story to tell- and the more we settle for archetypes of our own journey, the easier (and more likely) we will be to create them for others where they don’t intend for them to exist. Everyone deserves their own story, and their own insight. So own your story…your whole story; and encourage others’ to find and share theirs.
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