2015 is finally here! A new year means a fresh start, with untold opportunities ahead. For me, this entails a foray into the unknown: opinions writing.
Well, this isn’t completely true. If you were a regular reader of Page 4 last semester, you might have noticed my name in the top right with “Viewpoints Editor” next to it. But with a new year comes a new paper format, and a plethora of changes to go along with it.
With the position of viewpoints editor at the Beacon now all but nonexistent, and the duties passed on to our editor-in-chief, I get to focus on something I enjoy much more than editing: writing for you marvelous people.
Before we dive into the new semester, I suppose I should take some time to introduce myself. I’m a 22-year-old, 6-foot-4-inch ginger with a passion for environmentalism who also plays a little trombone on the side. Field of study wise, I’m a senior in environmental studies with a concentration in journalism.
What’s that? You had no idea that could be a major? Neither did I until about a year ago! Last January, I was at a crossroads in my life. To the right, a fairly financially stable career in geology, a path that very likely could have led to working for an oil company. To the left, an untamed wilderness shrouded in mystery, a frightening path to say the least.
Being happy in my eventual career is a major priority to me. As you may have guessed from my current major, working for an oil company isn’t exactly in my top 10. So I made the leap and switched majors on the second day of classes halfway through my junior year, picking whatever courses were left from the dregs of MyUTK.
For those first few months, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I often felt as if I were wandering aimlessly in my own proverbial forest. But with that sense of fear came a delightful feeling of excitement. I might have been unsure of where I was going, but I knew it was somewhere I wanted to be.
I was sure I had chosen the right path when the fall semester started up. Finally able to take classes in my major, I slowly but surely begun to blaze a trail. I learned a lot about myself in those months. In a confidence previously unknown to me, I took advantage of every opportunity I could. And now, at the beginning of the new year, I’m still not sure exactly where I’ll end up. But in the year of 2014, the year I took a chance and changed everything, I created something new: a compass.
I don’t wander aimlessly through my proverbial forest anymore thanks to the trials and tribulations of 2014. I may not have a concrete goal in mind, but I know what direction I need to go to get there. And to me, that’s what college should be about.
Do you know for sure where you’ll end up after graduation? Probably not. But, do you at least have an idea of where you’re headed?
Hopefully, unless you enjoy delaying your graduation by a year and a half, you’ll make your own compass a lot sooner than I did. And if you take a little longer to make up your mind, that’s okay too! As long as you set yourself up to go where you want to be, you’ll do just fine.
I’m commandeering my sister’s idea to dub 2015 as the year of adventure. Clichéd as it may sound, life is a heck of a lot more fun if you strive to go out and live it rather than sitting back and watching it go by. Sure, you might make some mistakes along the way — you’re only human.
As the late great Teddy Roosevelt once said: “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” Instead of moping and worrying about your mistakes, learn how to make your next experience better, and have some fun with it! Experience as much of our magnificent planet as humanly possible — you’ll be glad you did.
Kevin Ridder is a senior in Environmental Studies with a concen-…you know what? Let’s just go with Environmental Journalism. I’m sick of typing that. He can be reached at [email protected].
