2009 Lesson Learned--Everything Happens For a Reason--YOU
As 2009 comes to end, I've come to realize that "everything really does happen for a reason." Contrary to most perspectives on this quote, however, rather then believing in destiny, I believe in agency and choice. Everything happens for a reason, and the reason, is ourselves. Think about it this way, what we want, what we do, what we have, what we strive for, what we are, is a result of the choices we make. Ok, so I know it doesn't sound that easy, and yes there are obstacles, often times ourselves mind you, that get in the way of what we want...so..i'll add the "destiny" aspect to this quote by using gLee
gLee song--"You can't always get what you want...but if you try sometime..you just might find..you get what you need."
On that vein, i think that when you get what you need..you actually get what You want. And, I capitalize the Y in you because regardless of what you think you need, the larger part of you that seeks to take care of you, for many like myself I call that God, for others it's Allah, Buddha, Source, the Universe, You, in fact I think it's all in the same actually, but yes, the larger part that knows what you WANT, really gives you what you WANT, yet you don't realize it at the time and so you disregard it as just being something you NEED but did not WANT.
Ok, for those that I may have lost...let me tell you where I'm at, at the end of 2009. I just finished my first semester in graduate school at San Jose State and kicked ass, got straight As. A year ago, I applied to 5 PhD progams in Sociology and got rejected from all of them all in the beginning of 2009. I then had a slight glimmer of hope that I would get into UC Irvine's master's program.
I wanted UCI soooo bad. I kept thinking, and praying, and hoping, and meditating, and concentrating on UCI and couldn't stop talking about it. As it turns out, I didn't get it. Instead, I got SJSU...which is what I NEEDED.
At SJSU, I flourished into a gender and sexuality scholar in sociology. An experience that I know would not have happened this semester had I gone to another school, simply because I would have started off taking theory and methods courses, rather than jumping into a gender seminar.
Now I'm applying to grad programs a year later, a lot more focused and mature, with much more focus and purpose than before.
So, how does this relate back to my lesson learned? I had to ask myself, WHY did I want to go to UCI? It was because I wanted to get a PhD in sociology. Why a PhD? Because I wanted to challenge people's understanding of sexualty through research and through teaching.
**LIGHTBULB** That's what I REALLY wanted. What I really wanted was to do scholarship and research on gender and sexuality to challenge current perceptions of it. I got what I NEEDED, which was SJSU and the gender seminar class, which ultimately sets me up better to getting what i REALLY WANTED....so in actuality, I still will get what I want..even though at first i percieved it as what I need.
So what does this all boil down to?
Everything happens for a reason..and that reason is YOU. What you want/need it all depends on how you look at it...but all in all..in life there are no accidents...there are no mistakes..and in reality..we are always ALWAYS getting what we WANT and sometimes..we go through experiences of UNwanted things to strengthen or clarify what we DO WANT.
So define what you want, know your self-worth, have faith, reTHINK about HOW you think about things, live, laugh, learn, and LOVE.
Thank you for everyone that was part of my life in 09...i'm bringing you all into 2010 =)
And what do I want for 2010?
I want a life of IMMENSE happiness. I want to continue to love and be loved. I want academic and personal sucess. I want to continue to achieve. I want to grow. I want to grow...and you know what..I WILL ;)
gLee song--"You can't always get what you want...but if you try sometime..you just might find..you get what you need."
On that vein, i think that when you get what you need..you actually get what You want. And, I capitalize the Y in you because regardless of what you think you need, the larger part of you that seeks to take care of you, for many like myself I call that God, for others it's Allah, Buddha, Source, the Universe, You, in fact I think it's all in the same actually, but yes, the larger part that knows what you WANT, really gives you what you WANT, yet you don't realize it at the time and so you disregard it as just being something you NEED but did not WANT.
Ok, for those that I may have lost...let me tell you where I'm at, at the end of 2009. I just finished my first semester in graduate school at San Jose State and kicked ass, got straight As. A year ago, I applied to 5 PhD progams in Sociology and got rejected from all of them all in the beginning of 2009. I then had a slight glimmer of hope that I would get into UC Irvine's master's program.
I wanted UCI soooo bad. I kept thinking, and praying, and hoping, and meditating, and concentrating on UCI and couldn't stop talking about it. As it turns out, I didn't get it. Instead, I got SJSU...which is what I NEEDED.
At SJSU, I flourished into a gender and sexuality scholar in sociology. An experience that I know would not have happened this semester had I gone to another school, simply because I would have started off taking theory and methods courses, rather than jumping into a gender seminar.
Now I'm applying to grad programs a year later, a lot more focused and mature, with much more focus and purpose than before.
So, how does this relate back to my lesson learned? I had to ask myself, WHY did I want to go to UCI? It was because I wanted to get a PhD in sociology. Why a PhD? Because I wanted to challenge people's understanding of sexualty through research and through teaching.
**LIGHTBULB** That's what I REALLY wanted. What I really wanted was to do scholarship and research on gender and sexuality to challenge current perceptions of it. I got what I NEEDED, which was SJSU and the gender seminar class, which ultimately sets me up better to getting what i REALLY WANTED....so in actuality, I still will get what I want..even though at first i percieved it as what I need.
So what does this all boil down to?
Everything happens for a reason..and that reason is YOU. What you want/need it all depends on how you look at it...but all in all..in life there are no accidents...there are no mistakes..and in reality..we are always ALWAYS getting what we WANT and sometimes..we go through experiences of UNwanted things to strengthen or clarify what we DO WANT.
So define what you want, know your self-worth, have faith, reTHINK about HOW you think about things, live, laugh, learn, and LOVE.
Thank you for everyone that was part of my life in 09...i'm bringing you all into 2010 =)
And what do I want for 2010?
I want a life of IMMENSE happiness. I want to continue to love and be loved. I want academic and personal sucess. I want to continue to achieve. I want to grow. I want to grow...and you know what..I WILL ;)