I'm an incredibly nostalgic person by nature, and holidays do nothing but intensify my desire to reflect on both the past and the future- Independence Day is no different.
Last night, on the 4th, I turned to my sister while watching fireworks and asked her if she remembered where she was at a year ago. She answered honestly.
"Probably watching fireworks."
I can't recall exactly what I did on July 4th, 2011, but I remember where I was at- not physically, but simply where I was at in life. I remember what I valued, what I struggled with, what made me passionate, and what I saw as important.
Looking back, I can see how far I have come in a full year. It make me all the more thankful for my freshman year, a journey that will always be remembered.
However, it would be boring if I only dwelt on the past. I also look towards the future, to where I'll be on July 4th, 2013.
I've had a seed planted in my mind since April now, and it's been growing. It started as a casual interest, a "what if", but now it's turned into something much larger. It's bold. It's big- it's Googley.
In the summer of 2013, I have a dream of being in Mountain View, California with Google on the Building Opportunities for Leadership and Development (BOLD) internship program.
Ideally I'd like to be placed in their Marketing and Communications department, but frankly, I'm not picky. It's California. It's Google.
Here's the catch though- like all things in life worth getting, it's going to be competitive out the whazoo.
I'm going to be gunning against collegiate golden boys and golden girls from across the nation. Against people as ambitious, and FAR MORE ambitious than me. I'm going to be outclassed and outgunned, and it's going to be a miracle if I make it through the first round of interviews.
Which is why I've started preparing for the future now.
I began to hunt for recommendation letters two weeks ago- today I picked up my first from the far too gracious OU Vice President of Student Affairs/Dean of Students Clarke Stroud. I intend to collect on others in time.
More importantly though, I've begun to pray about it. After 19 years of living, I'm starting to catch on to the concept that my plan for the future may not always be the best plan for the future. So I'm praying.
If this is where God wants me spending next Summer, I want him to fuel me, to push me farther than I think I can run and stretch me until it's painful so that I can become the man I need to be for what he has planned for that summer.
And if it's not what God wants, then I want him to shut the door. It'll be disappointing, but I've always managed to pick myself up. Regardless, I'm praying 'bout it.
If that's your thing, I'd appreciate it if you could too. I need it.
Because despite how much I tout my near 50 hour summer work week, dual minors and my professional demeanor and bla bla bla, I am still so very, very young- and gearing up for something like this will be one of the biggest mountains I've ever tackled.
But I'd rather tackle this mountain than sit at the base of it, complacent and wondering what could have been.
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24
The race has begun. If God is in this, then carpe diem, and #Google2013
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