How about....joy?

As I embrace my word for the year, courage, this video really spoke to me recently. Well, really the video clip just before the singing starts. (I’m not much of a country music fan.) I don’t want you to get caught up in the lyrics of the song but rather focus on John C. McGinley’s challenge at the beginning.

“I want you to forget about whatever you think you will face outside of these doors. I want you to think about one thing. I want you to think about what you will give,” McGinley tells his students.

“What will you be willing to give to change the word miserable to joyful? What will you be so rich with that you will be willing to share it with the entire world?” he asks. “I want you to distill all that down to one word, come up here write it on the board and then walk out the door and then I want you to give it to the world.”

So, now I ask you, what would you choose for your one word?

Through the college process, it’s easy to get caught up in the “we won’t be happy ‘til we’re rich…..” or maybe until I get accepted into XYZ college or find the perfect career. For many students and families, happiness gets delayed. We forget to enjoy the journey of finding a college home. Or we may even get lost in the process of planning for college because we’re too busy striving for perfection, afraid to make a mistake. Students are climbing a ladder that appears to never end. But often we forget to enjoy the process. Now.

So, during these COVID times, I encourage every student and family to ENJOY. Find time to engage fully in the college process. Yes, it can be fun! It should be fun! If you can’t visit campuses in person, plan a “virtual college trip”. Register for virtual campus info sessions or tours, pull them up on the computer or if nothing else, watch some campus videos on YouTube (the official college YouTube channels) through your cable TV option. MAKE IT FUN! Not perfect.