And So It Is...
There are those small things in life that, whenever you just look at them, you instantly gain some hope, or comfort, or motivation (or if you're lucky, all three!). There are also those people in life that you meet once, and never see again, but they've changed your path forever.
It's hard to tell when those moments happen. Sometimes you know right away, but most of the time, you don't realize it until well afterwards.
I went to a career fair today, on a whim with a friend of mine from my computer science class. I ended up snagging a lot of free stuff, just because that's what I do, and there was some SWEET free stuff. I meandered over to one booth with a lot of these rocket sort of things that I remembered playing with when I was at a science camp, and I really wanted one. But instead of sniping one, one of the guys at the booth started talking to me, and we ended up talking for a good 15 minutes or so. I didn't realize until now, but the information he gave me provided me with so much motivation, hope, and optimism for my future. I realized that it's really okay if I don't understand things right away, I just need to commit to learning them at some point. And, opportunities come out of nowhere, so grab them when you can. Life really moves by a lot quicker than people plan for, and I need to plan for that.
I will probably never see him again. The chances of me even working at these places are slim, considering the fact that my co-op doesn't start until 3rd year, and considering I barely know where I'll be next year. But the fact is, the fleeting encounter that I was presented with today was one of those fleeting encounters that I will take with me for the rest of my life.
At the end of our chat, he gave me a rocket. It's bright blue, has the company name written on the side, and mixes my childhood with my future.
The rocket is on my shelf now, and every time I look at it, I smile, and return to my studying with even more motivation than the second before.