Intelligent waiting

I had been waiting for this letter. I sat down on a bench in the student lounge to read it, hoping it was news I wanted. It was printed on nice paper. The layout was beautiful. The font was stylish. But the words were devastating.

My application had been rejected.

My last 2 years of study had been focused on getting into this school and this program. It was not going to happen this year. The faculty didn’t think I was ready.

There was a ray of hope. I was to wait a year and then re-apply. But what would I do for a year while I waited? Should I wait or move on? How would I be different a year from now?

I left the school building and slowly walked to a nearby park. The sun was setting and the air was cool and a light breeze was brushing the long grass. I was alone. I stood and watched the sun fall below the trees and vowed to take one more shot at getting into the program.

Then I cried.

The last 2 weeks of school were a blur. I graduated from college and faced an empty future. I had a year to wait.

In the end I decided to attend a nearby auto mechanic training program. It was 9 months long and would lead to certification in maintaining and repairing cars. My strategy was that if I didn’t get into the program I wanted, I would have other skills to use in building a career. Definitely not my first choice, but better than nothing.

As things turned out, the auto mechanic training program was quite good. We did lots of hands-on work in addition to learning how the electrical and mechanical systems worked. I practiced my new skills on my own 1974 Honda and on friend’s cars. And the following May I graduated from the program. Most of my classmates already had jobs or job offers. But I had other plans.

I once again applied to the master’s program that I had failed to get into the previous year. This time I was accepted. And 3 years later, after many classes, a dissertation and a 3-month internship, I graduated.

Now here’s the funny part: I don’t work in the field that I originally studied for. My Master’s degree is in a box somewhere. I left that field nearly 30 years ago after working in it for a short time. But the skills I learned in the auto mechanic program I have used constantly over many years. It was the skills I learned while I was waiting for something else that have served me well over many years.

The most important lesson I learned was to wait intelligently, to use the time that I had available to move in a new direction. In my case the new direction allowed me to grow in ways I never imagined.

Patience is intelligent waiting – using the time and resources we have at hand to find new ways to grow and find satisfaction in the opportunities that are open to us. For our future success may lie in a field we have never considered.