“Y”– The wishbone. The empty martini glass. The crooked letter at the end of the alphabet that gets a little less respect than it should. It’s always A, E, I, O, U and only sometimes Y. For my Scrabble players, there are two types of “Y” recipients. Those who groan at the difficulty of fitting a Y on the board and those who rub their palms together at the prospect of reaping the benefits of placing a Y tile, ripe with 4 succulent points, in the perfect position on the Scrabble board. (In case you’re wondering, I’m the former, transitioning to the latter– I’m almost there!) Without the letter “Y,” “why” becomes “wh” and falls flat like windless sails.
Why is important. Everyone needs a strong, fully developed “why.”
A little background information about me:
- A.A. Liberal Arts, magna cum laude from NVCC December 2010
- B.A. English, cum laude from George Mason University, May 2013
- I can write a mean ten page paper on just about anything.
- I spent most of my life on the Dean’s List
- Following the teachings of Aristotle, excellence was my habit, my drug of choice.
- After college, my why died
As a kid the goal was always to get to the next level. Kindergarten, Elementary School, Middle School, High School, College. College was my why. My parents were much less fortunate than I. Both were raised in public housing. At the mention of college, one of my grandmothers scoffed, the other sighed. Eventually, both of my parents got to take college courses, but neither of them attained a degree. They had careers, children, mortgages, and elderly parents to worry about. They made sure that for me, college was not only an option, but a no-brainer. In short, my why, my motivation, my drive was to finish what they started and earn a bachelor’s degree. I never addressed my desires beyond that point.
So it may have come as a surprise to my family, friends, professors, and peers that in the beginning of the summer of 2013 I did absolutely nothing. No work. No resumes. No applications. No GRE prep. No nothing. I didn’t have a job lined up despite taking a very thorough College To Careers class in my final semester. They offered up their advice, speculation, pep talks, and contempt:
“Journalism. That’s where the money is.” they said
“When are you going to start studying for the LSAT?”
“You should just go teach”
“Have you applied to Starbucks yet?”
“you could have the best office job right now”
“You have a degree, do something with it!”
And my personal favorite:
“But you have so much potential! You can do anything you put your mind to!”
They were correct to say I had potential. And yes, I could do anything I put my mind to. I could be at Columbia studying cases right now. But my why for law school isn’t big enough. I’ve got goals that haven’t been put into motion because I haven’t developed and strengthened my why.
It’s only taken me about five paragraphs to get to the point but it is important so take please take heed: In order for anyone to move, to take action, to do anything at all, they have to have a why that outweighs everything else in life. The why doesn’t oppose fear, it utilizes it. The strong why turns fear to fuel for courage. The why doesn’t care what other say– they’ll get on board eventually or get left behind. The why opens doors, and causes all things to fall into place. The why rearranges schedules. The strong why is unstoppable.
My why for getting fit is huge: I want to be healthy, start every morning with purpose, feel good every day, and try to live a life of longevity. The bangin’ body doesn’t hurt. I know my why is big enough because five days a week I wake up at 4:30 am to work out with a brutal trainer at 5:30. I do this to myself. I do this for myself. I come home sore day in and day out. I kick my own butt because my why is big enough.
More recently I’ve found an even bigger why for my life. I want to live a life of purpose. I can not stand to exert any more of my valuable energy on anything that isn’t touching lives or fulfilling my personal purpose. I have the gift of presence. I know the importance of presence. Sometimes presence is literally just that– being there. A hand on a shoulder in a room full of silence, a face in a crowd on a big day, stomping in the bleachers at a soccer game, an “I was there, and I’m proud of you.” I spend countless hours in practice for my church Mime Ministry because I know that every time I present on stage, my ministry touches at least one person’s life.
People are driven by different things. Your why may be a complete contrast to mine. The hard part is solving for wh(y). Once you find that why, that drive, and you utilize it, the world is yours to conquer.
About two weeks ago I made a blog, armed with a few thoughts to get me started. That blog lasted about 30 minutes. My why wasn’t truly there.
But today, after receiving a phone call from opportunity, my why rolled me off of my stomach and began to flick my fingers across the keyboard.
I didn’t know how to navigate Blogger but my why pushed me to try anyway.
My why won’t let me sleep. My why has got ideas whirring and buzzing through my brain faster than I can type.
My why has got me up blogging past my bedtime.
I’m comin’ for that 25th crooked letter of the alphabet. I’m seizing it. I’m claiming it. I’ve plucked it late in the Scrabble game and I’m ready to place my why.
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