Today I fly out to Phoenix to reunite with some of my closest friends from college, all of them my sorority sisters. In college, I was in a sorority. I also used to have long hair. I think that’s it for the confessions for today. Let’s just safely assume that I was a different person before I began climbing. Scratch that, less a different person, more that I had different interests.
Our mutual friend, Anna, is graduating from medical school this weekend. Medical School. She’s going to be a doctor. I’m living in a trailer. The only reason that this actually affects me is that Anna and I used to be on the same path.
Anna was the first person I met in college. We met in line waiting for our dorm room assignments, ended up living across the hall from each other and even joining the same sorority. We have been good friends since that very first day that we met, when I was wearing a bright pink Juicy Couture jumpsuit. Okay, that was seriously the last confession. You should definitely Google my outfit choice if you’re not sure what I was wearing. Nevermind, I’ll just post a picture below to give you an idea.
So where/when did Anna and I diverge? We can go into all the differences that we have, starting with the fact that I’m a brunette and she’s a blonde, but the only difference that matters is commitment.
9 years ago, Anna committed to becoming a doctor. I was terrified of committing the next 10-15 years of my life to school. I couldn’t see the big picture, so I chose the past of least resistance. How lame is that?
I do not regret the decision I made in college to forgo my pre-med studies. I love my current life, but as one grows older, you have less time to f*ck around. Committing to something means taking a huge gamble because you’re all-in, no matter the outcome. I think the alternative, lack of commitment, offers you a superficial life, one without true gain.
This is probably why The RV Project is not where I want it to be after an entire year on the road. This past year, I had to test the waters. I had to make sure that I was really all-in. Now that we’re on year #2, I know this is where I want to be. I know this is what I want to be doing.
Sadly, I’ve kind of wasted a year. Sure, I don’t want to think of it that way, but that is the reality. This past year, I had one foot on the road, and the other one somewhere else (whether it was dreaming about what my life could be like, applying to business school, or just being lazy).
Here’s to celebrating Anna and her powerful conviction. In celebration, let’s commit. Commit to holding on just a second longer, commit to making the move, commit to life and stop holding yourself back.
What does commitment mean to you? When have you committed to something that was the wrong thing to commit to? What did you learn? Would you do it again?
COMMIT : A FALL IN BISHOP from Wingspan on Vimeo.