From Floating in the Sea to Soaring in the Sky.
While watching Grey’s Anatomy, the viewer might be intrigued with all the twists, turns, and pivotal moments Grey and Dr. Shepherd have in their romantic relationship. Sometimes, those twists, turns, and pivotal moments are foreseeable while other seem sporadic and throw Grey, Dr. Shepherd, and the viewer off their heels. However, these moments are what shape Grey and Dr. Shepherd’s relationship going forward. For example, if they have a sudden falling out in one episode, their demeanor towards each other would be blunt until they apologize to each other. Likewise, our lives are filled with foreseeable and sporadic twists and turns mixed together with pivotal moments which shape us as people and our journeys. Throughout this paper, I will be reflecting on pivotal moments in my life, my journey leading up to this semester, what I am doing to achieve success in this unprecedented time, and how I am going to influence the field of communications once I graduate.
At age ten, I had a drastic different perspective of a future career both physically and attitude wise. For starters, I was confined to a wheelchair unable to do just about anything on my own. Part of this was due to my disability, but some of it was due to my attitude. Once I exclaimed, “I want to live off of government assistance, play video games, and be like my birth father,” who took advantage of governmental assistance and lounged around the house. However, a more positive pivotal moment occurred fifteen years later in Wilmington. I had a chance run-in with two Mormon missionaries which literally produced the avenue through which I found my passion in public speaking. This meeting led to me being converted to the Mormon religion. Once converted for a month, I began to give speeches periodically to my Ward, a local congregation, and occasionally to the missionaries.
By preparing these speeches, I discovered that the process of drafting a speech is a passion in which I tend to lose track of time. I enjoy the strategic planning and challenge I face as I try to produce a smooth sounding speech. Similarly, I relish in reminiscing on the experiences I have had and finding a way to incorporate a few experiences into the speech. Someone who crafts a smooth sounding speech interwoven with personal experiences so well that I admire is David A. Bednar who is a leader in the Mormon church. During my time in the Mormon religion, I looked forward to General Conference, a time when the leaders spoke to the general membership, because David A. Bednar’s speech was masterfully woven together with doctrine and personal experiences.
Just as David A. Bednar’s strategic crafting of speeches improved as he advanced in his career, I can hone my public speaking skills and broaden my knowledge on a number of topics that would be beneficial in turning my dream job into reality by completing the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Communications Major. Through learning from my professors and collaborating with my peers, I will be expanding and improving my knowledge and strategies I use as a public speaker. Inevitably though, I will simultaneously be building connections with those individuals which could ultimately be beneficial in achieving my dream job: to build a social media presence where I would get sponsored trying new things and challenging individuals’ perceptions about people with disabilities. Then I would use those experiences as I speak as a motivational speaker to groups all over the world.
While this is my ultimate goal, I have advantages, disadvantages, and endless opportunities as a transfer student. Having attended Cape Fear Community College from Fall of 2018 through Spring of 2020, I have had an experience of getting a sixty-seven on a math test which caused me to alter my studying habits for this class going forward. Ultimately, this led to me getting an A in Statistics overall. Nevertheless, a disadvantage to being a transfer student this semester is that it is very difficult to cultivate relationship with peers and get involved with different groups on campus. One group I am interested in exploring, once things are back to normal, is the LGBT student community. As a member of the LGBT community, it has been difficult creating authentic friendships with other members within the local community.
Though making authentic connections as a transfer student is at a disadvantage since college is mostly virtual, the biggest advantage of being a transfer student is that I have had experience with online classes, though just for two months when the semester suddenly went totally virtual due to Covid-19. While ideally I would have taken classes in person, I can continue to alter my methods of studying and taking in information as warranted and as the semester progresses.
Just as Hunter Rawlings states in “College Is Not a Commodity,” “ college is a place to learn how to philosophically apply knowledge... it is the discovery itself that is life-changing,” so it is with life. Throughout my life and subsequently my college career, I have known certain things about myself but it is when I actively apply the knowledge through either experiences or altering how I live my life is when I have felt more in tuned with myself. Just as Grey and Dr. Shepherd had pivotal moments in their relationship which altered how they interacted with each other, Covid-19 is a pivotal moment in my life which has limited my interactions with peers and professors to being virtually. Having to meet virtually and stuck at home with no end in sight is similar to floating in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight, but when our lives are back to normal we can soar in the sky as we take advantage of the knowledge we are concurring now and endless opportunities that will shape our life’s journeys.