The Awakening

Be bold and do you. These were the wise words that came from our charismatic speaker on Wednesday evening. Not only did this remark inspire me to abide by this mantra but the energy and the passion that flowed from Deanna McKinley ignited an enthusiasm within me that had been hibernating since the end of last semester.

When I came back from winter break I felt as if my usual ambitious attitude had been buried by the monotony of the endless hours of soap net that I had dedicated my break to. I came back to school eager to once again have a purpose and a never-ending list of things to do. To my surprise my list of things to do was usually accomplished within the first four hours of my day and the remaining 12 I sat and twiddled my thumbs scheming on how to fill my depressingly empty calendar. I finally realized that I can easily fill my days with trivial things but I lacked the urge to actually do something meaningful. Something was holding me back. I had this feeling of complacency that I could not shake no matter how hard I tried.

As 5:30 on Wednesday evening rolled around I sauntered into my car and prayed the next three hours would go by quickly. As soon as McKinley began to give her rapport I knew that her presentation would definitely be entertaining but I didn’t realize the impact it would have on me. She spoke with such enthusiasm and truth that captivated my attention. I relished in her stories of running through the airport to make it to a black tie event in time and putting out fires hours before an event, making it seem like everything was perfect. I envisioned myself, blackberry in hand, smoothing over crises, running from place to place, writing releases to meet the next deadline and making sure my client was always pleased. At that moment I sat back in my chair and knew I was back in business baby.

She spent the hour telling us about her job and why it was so important to her and what things were pertinent to our success in the future. However, the most important message she instilled was never feign who you are, always “do you”. She advised us to always take the time for ourselves and do things that we are passionate about and that we love. Her words awoke all of my ambitious antics and motivated me to break the shackles of complacency, get back on track and get down to business.

That evening I left the classroom feeling rejuvenated and alive. The presentation Ms. McKinley gave was one that I will never forget. She injected exuberance and life into our classroom and essentially back into my life.