“Needs to take more risks”

I’ll start with the highlights so those of you who don’t want to read the rambling musings of a 22-year-old who’s bored in an airport can click away from this page after the quick update.

I’m in Detroit, hanging out until my flight for Amsterdam leaves! This airport is pretty freaking cool…It has an underground tunnel with flashing lights and a train INSIDE the terminal (I’ve been snapchatting and this will continue – if you want to keep up with my snapchat story, add me: jenmcalister41). For those of you who haven’t yet realized, I’m actually a 6-year-old inside, and I get excited by really little things (I rode the train twice). That’s going to continue for the entirety of this blog, just so ya know.

For those of you who want more than just the CliffsNotes version, here’s a short explanation of why I’m taking this trip.

Remember how on your report cards in grade school, your grades came with comments? They always felt generic, and I’m pretty sure my aunt (who’s a teacher) has told me that they come from a pre-selected list. For the most part, those comments told me what I already knew. But in grade 3, my teacher included the suggestion “Jennifer needs to take more risks.” As a 9-year-old, that comment was frustrating and confusing. Something like “needs to improve multiplication skills” made sense and could be easily changed, but taking risks was a vague and broad concept that wasn’t easily implemented. However, as I grew older, I realized just how right my teacher was. I’ve always been someone who errs on the side of caution, and while that can be helpful at times, it can also be limiting. Resisting and avoiding change have been hallmarks of my academic, professional, and personal life.

This year brought a number of significant changes in my life, many of which I had no control over. However, through these changes, I saw myself grow in a lot of positive ways, and so I started challenging myself to do things that scared me, that pushed me a little outside of the comfort zone I’ve inhabited for so long. This trip is one of the outcomes (and perhaps the most important) of that goal. Obviously, there are other reasons why I’m going (great experience, the class material seems interesting), but those reasons wouldn’t have been sufficient motivation.

Now I’m going to finish up dinner, grab some M&Ms (they have them sorted by colour here!!!!), and catch my flight!

-Jen