Who I am is irrelevant without first knowing my life experiences.
As I finish my last week as a student at Purdue, I have been thinking back about my 4 years at this school. And I realized that a famous line, written by Charles Dickens in a Tale of Two Cities, sums up my four years at Purdue perfectly,
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
My time at Purdue was the best of times, more recently, and the worst of times, during my first two years at Purdue. My Freshmen year started out in August 2011, and just like everyone else, I was happy to be on my own, but homesick because I missed my high school friends. They were some of the best people I ever met in my life, you all know who you are. Then, my high school friend Matt died in late September. It was a life changing event for me, and for many others. Everyone has their own way of dealing with things, and everyone thought that I was dealing with such a traumatic event in my life, just fine. They were right to some extent, but the Purdue Police wouldn’t agree with them. Exactly 6 months after Matt died, I was arrested and put in jail for the night. Within 6 months, arguably 2 of the worst things that could have happened to me, did happen to me. Even worse, these two events had happened in an environment that I didn’t necessarily have a great support system. My friends at Purdue were great, but I didn’t have the support I used to have. If being arrested taught me one thing, it was that you simply shouldn’t break the law.
I came back to Purdue to start my Sophomore year with a court appearance hanging over my head. I completed all of the courts requirements: community service, a class, and tests. Really, my sophomore year at Purdue was the least productive year of my life. I don’t know why this was so, but living by myself for the first time may have contributed. I had very little interest in Accounting, which was what I was studying at the time. The two semesters of my Sophomore year I had the two lowest GPA’s I ever had in college. I guess things have a way of lingering longer than they should. I really think I just couldn’t get past the fact that I thought society was telling me,
“You are a FAILURE. You are WORTHLESS. You will amount to NOTHING.”
The summer after my Sophomore year, 2013, I went back home to Valparaiso. I was relieved to get out of the hectic environment I had created for myself at Purdue, an environment where I was most definitely NOT successful.
“Life has a funny way of kicking you when you are down.”
That summer after my Sophomore year I was arrested AGAIN. Again, I spent the night in jail. This time it was for minor in consumption, or underage drinking. What can I say, I was a stupid 20-year-old and that 20 year old’s make mistakes. There was something about this event, that seemed to change me more than ANYTHING else. Which doesn’t make much sense. This time I learned a lesson, again. Maybe it was to be careful who you trust. This event was completely written off in my mind, for whatever reason I started to tell myself,
“Maybe I am a failure. The best thing a failure can do is to make changes, try again, and hope for a better outcome.”
As I started my Junior year at Purdue, the good times finally came. I made changes, I tried again, and I received a better outcome and better outcomes to come. The Fall 2013 semester I received straight A’s, and had doubled my GPA from the previous semester. I have had continued success since my last BIG failure when I was 20.
Today, I am looking at law schools to attend next year. It was a long time goal of mine to go to law school, but one that I did not think was achievable when my train was derailed just a few years ago. I know how lucky I am to be where I am right now. I hope that these words can reach someone who has failed, but is still TRYING to succeed. That’s my life’s story, and I am just willing to admit the facts.
To conclude, if life is like being dealt a hand of cards, I may have had some shitty cards dealt my way: Matt died, I was arrested twice, I had a horrible year of school grade-wise. But I also had some great cards dealt my way: A loving and supportive family, great friends, an incredible internship opportunity, the opportunity to remember my friend Matt- through the Matthew Lee Erickson Scholarship, a degree from Purdue University, accepted to two law schools, countless opportunities that I did take advantage of, and countless opportunities that I should have taken advantage of and didn’t. I feel as if I have used those bad cards and made something good out of it all, and that’s all I can continue to do. No Excuses.
If you would like to support a great cause, The Matthew Lee Erickson Scholarship Fund, in memory of my late friend Matt, Check us out on Go Fund Me: http://www.gofundme.com/MLEScholarshipFund
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