Life Lessons
I feel truly blest to have been given the chance to partake in this immersion class. It is a completely unique experience and really gives young performers an edge when starting their careers. Many of the people we met with said if they only knew the information they know now ten years ago life would have been easier. Going on this trip really was an eye-opening experience and each and every one of the students benefited from the trip in one way or another. I am going to now share some of the life lessons I learned from this trip.
1. People are people. This seems fairly simple but I know many young people have misconceptions about other groups of people, specifically those who grew up in a different culture. What I have learned from this trip is that you can make connections with almost anyone, and have the same experiences as a person on the other side of the country. Once I embraced this simplistic idea the world seemed a less daunting place, and New York seemed less scary.
2. Don't justify what makes you happy. As young college students we often think that we have to achieve a certain goal in order to be successful but then life becomes a task. Going to school, earning your degree, this is important, but your degree is just that, a degree. There are so many options that one doesn't think about while in school. There is no cookie-cutter version of life, and you don't have to do the same things other people in your major end up doing. Every one is different and whatever ends up making you happy is what you should pursue.
3. Persistence is one of the most important aspects of success. If you keep trying, and continue to work you will be successful. Everyone has talent, but not everyone has perseverance and the willingness to get up every single time they fall and try again. If you keep pulling yourself back up you will outlast many of the people that you started out with.
I could go on and on about the things I learned but these are three things that really stood out to me. None of these 'lessons' are completely new ideas to me or mind-blowing, but they are ideas that have become more solidified because of this trip
~Britney Shattuck