The Observer, April 4, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 23
A Fresh Perspective: Apparent stumbles are challenging yet rewarding in the end
If you ask anyone to describe me, inevitably the word clumsy will be brought up. I have managed to trip, stumble, fall, and tumble through the first 18 years of my life and anticipate living a lifetime in such a manner. Stairs, poles, and patches of ice have not been good to me. Through I possess a plethora of scars, I regret the presence of none. Physical and mental, deep and shallow, vivid and invisible, all of these scars have given me strength, given me stories, and allowed me to grow.
I have tripped into the best decisions I have ever made. I chose CWRU without a tour, without a good financial aid package, and with full intent to go pre-med. I love every moment here, every person that I have met. I ran for a position in RHA after vying for, and being denied, the 2011 class president position, and without a true idea of what the organization was. There, I found some of the greatest people that I have ever met, and the feeling that I am making a difference within the campus community. I went through formal recruitment with a wishy-washy attitude, and have found women who truly feel like sisters to me.
We all have experiences such as this. Things that aren't meant to happen to us do. Surprises jump out of nowhere at us and we stumble, affected and thrown off balance. It's dizzying at first. We find ourselves dazed and confused. Where do we go from here?
Bumbling over uneven ground, falling in love. Toppling over ourselves and our best intentions. Tripping over our own two feet and stepping on the toes of others. We never really learn to walk with ease. But, I have found that the result of our ungraceful jaunt is nothing other than what is best for us. It is, in fact, the fear of making a mistake, of foundering, which keeps us from trying new things, meeting new people, and truly maturing.
Through all this falling, we discover the perseverance within ourselves. A failed test, a crush's rebuff, inundation by work and meetings and friends. We take a deep breath. We crack a book. We prioritize and work late into the night. We will not be beaten. We stand, a little worse for wear, but now we know better. We brush ourselves off.
We realize who loves us as we fall. They run to catch us. These are the people who give us their hand and help us up. They stand beside us, hold us when we cry. They calm us, tell us it will be OK, and help us to conquer this unknown territory.
We fall through life. We may stagger through where we don't belong. We will inevitably be lost, facedown on the pavement, scraped and bruised. But it is after this awkward tangle of limbs, emotions, and words that we find strength – strength to pick ourselves up and to extend a hand to help others find their balance. The strength to look around, and realize that after all that falling, we've ended up right where we were meant to.
Mandy Martin is a first-year English major.
