The Land of Unexpected Opportunity
The first time I tried to make chocolate chip cookies was an absolute disaster. I expected a gooey, warm, and chocolatey treat that melted in your mouth as soon as you took a bite. Instead, I got a puddle of charred soup at the bottom of the oven. What I ended up with was nothing like I expected.
While the last four years do not compare to my melted cookie mess, my time as a Jimmie has been nothing like I originally planned.
Plan A
I wanted to disappear in college. As an overly involved student from a small town, I was done with the extra-curriculars. The plan was to go to a few classes each day, sing in the Concert Choir, make a few friends, maybe go to a basketball game, and then graduate with a degree in Radiological Technologies.
That was the plan that 18-year old me had in place, but it didn’t take very long for the unexpected reality to set it.
My first unexpected turn happened on the third day of class when I didn’t make it into the Concert Choir. I had big dreams of singing with this group and partaking in the overseas tour that spring, so I was devastated. Little did I know that I would meet my best friend in Chapel Choir and would later be asked to be her Maid of Honor.
Eventually, I had the opportunity to move up to the Concert Choir as some freshman girl that nobody knew. Everyone already knew the music and had their friend groups, so I didn’t know where I fit in. I never expected that those strangers at the time would become my lifelong friends who I cannot imagine life without. It was with the choir that I finally started to understand the meaning of the Jimmie family.
Embrace the Change
Fast forward a few years, and the plan continued to change. I joined the band. Not only did I join the Wind Ensemble, but also the Pep Band, Jazz Band, Drumline, and Percussion Ensemble. On top of all that, I got talked into auditioning for the fall musical, Spamalot. The performing arts were full of unexpected opportunities, and I took them whenever I could. With all these new opportunities came responsibility, and I started to figure out who I was as a leader and what I truly wanted to do with my life after college.
My plan changed, and that is okay. The University of Jamestown is a safe place to make those changes for yourself. Being a part of the Jimmie family means you have a support system like no other that will be with you for every step of your journey. I came to UJ as a shy, but excited freshmen who was determined to do the bare minimum to get a degree in something I wasn’t interested in. I never expected to change my major, or join every performing group on campus, or to luck out with the best roommates, or to compose, or meet some of my favorite people. I trust that God brought me to UJ, because the unexpected is what I needed all along.
Like the chocolate chip cookies, my time as a Jimmie has been nothing like I originally planned, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
