I have realized today that my mind is a very powerful tool that if not handled correctly, could result in unintended consequences and behaviors and expectations. Whenever I am presented with the opportunity to made a decision or judgement on a situation, I tend to ask for other opinions, I try to determine which decisions will impact me the most in positive ways, and then I stick to that choice or opinion until presented with new and better information.
In this blog post, I want to focus on college. Oh college, what a complex yet simple thing that some people have a detailed confident plan about while others struggle all their lives to figure out. Spending as little as a few grand to almost a million just to get experience, a chance to get a dream job and possibly meet your wife/husband. Welcome to the world of college.
On my mission I learned to plan and set goals and had very specific ideas that I was confident about accomplishing. We had guides that would help us know what to teach and what to do. It was very well setup. Yet when I came home and it was time for me to figure out my life, I stumbled and fell. Well, what do I want to do with my life? I knew my interests and I had friends who lived in certain places so I could motivate to go to certain colleges to be with them and enjoy my interests. But how do I get there? There was no book that covered each career and your life situation and gave a plan and set of goals on how to accomplish them.
I had to figure things out, and fast. I asked many friends what they thought and besides the normal "pray about it" advice, I got some suggestions and would indeed pray about it to decide what was right. Except that I really didn't know, and I think the Lord didn't care, He just wanted me to make up my mind and then He'd give me blessings and opportunities and so on.
The point of this post isn't to focus on my choices, but rather the power of influence in making those. I have been told by several people that BYU is a good choice. My parents like it, friends like it. It has two programs that I like, one is animation/filming and the other is sign language. Both interests I want to pursue. With the influence of others, I had become convinced to attend a local community college that would help bypass a few requirements at BYU and make things easier.
Well, now that I've done that, and am waiting for results from BYU... I have realized how powerful these influences have been. I haven't studied other options. I chose what I have from just a few people's suggestions. I feel that the Lord wants me to just figure it out and He'll help me when I do need it. And I sit here and wonder, was it worth it? If I am rejected, was the community college still worth it? Should I have started this path?
I feel the answer is yes because of many personal and not so personal blessings I have already experienced, however the point here is, a single person's opinion can influence your decision to spend thousands of dollars. So always be mindful and make sure you are happy with the choice, not just that others are as well.
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