Freshmen miss life lessons without common book

By Tabetha Metz

Guest Columnist 

As freshmen began the first day of orientation we were handed “Making the Impossible Possible” by Bill Strickland.

He comes from a ghetto in Manchester, N.Y. where opportunities are slim.  

This book teaches one to find his or her values and what will bring true satisfaction in one’s life. 

As freshmen begin this new journey in our college education, it is very important to keep an open-mind about everything. 

With an open-minded attitude, your opinions will be much more true to you, and if you are more honest with yourself, your own opinions will become more clearly defined. Having a close-minded attitude gives you a negative outlook on new things and experiences.

As soon as the book was handed to us, many students dismissed it as important before even reading the title. They judged the book before even reading the cover. Many of the freshmen who felt automatic disapproval before reading the title had that close-minded attitude. 

With such a negative attitude, most people procrastinated in reading the assignment until the weekend before it was supposed to be finished.

Some crammed. 

Those who said “forget it” missed one of the most heart grasping, mind-blowing stories you could read for a while. Many of the students who crammed missed the point of the story.

The reason I write this article is for those of you who missed this enlightening book. Here is your chance to understand a small bit of why our wise school chose this book for us freshmen. 

If you are worried about your success in getting a job and making a good or even decent salary, you’re worried about the wrong things. 

Success lies in passion or, as Strickland likes to call it “swing” that one thing that gives you sheer bliss in life.  

You must trust what it is you love despite the doubts you may have. But that’s what’s so hard about success. I think we all fear we will fail or look stupid doing what we love. 

Once you are able to drive through your fears, that passion should drive you to work harder to fulfill your life’s goals in order to live a satisfying life. 

But what if you don’t know what your passion is? It is what gives you a sense of greater purpose. Sometimes it can be the simplest moments or the grandest of events.

It is what melts your whole life away and focuses you on that one moment.

Trust your gut and your “swing.” Let your passion drive your motive and work ethic and then your cards will fall right into place. Just remember that one day you will be 70 years old looking back on life wondering how life could have been if you did what made you happy back in those college days.

There’s nothing you can’t do. It’s the way you do it.