Life lessons from a fortune cookie

Students of Washington College’s graduating class of 2015 did not have, what I would call, a normal move in experience. It started off normal enough: Arrive at school, move in your stuff, you parents go to the “letting your child go” meeting, you try not to tear up, blah blah blah. Our move in though, didn’t end the way it was supposed to. There was a hurricane coming and WAC didn’t want us there for it. More than half of us went home with our parents that day while the others camped out in my dorm for “safety.” It turned out that the college overreacted, but none the less I had to redo the entire move in process a week later. 

The night before second move in we got Chinese food and I, being impatient, opened my fortune cookie right away. My fortune read: Don’t give up, the beginning is always the hardest. Call it fate or luck or coincidence or whatever you want to call it, but no truer words have ever been read. Later that night I proceeded to have a very dramatic crying session with my Mom (I was doing the crying, she was laughing at me because I was being ridiculous). She gave me one of her famous pep-talks and after feeling a bit better I went to bed feeling like maybe I could do this college thing after all. The next morning we drove back to WAC, got my room in order, and said our goodbyes. Before she left, my Mom quoted the fortune cookie, gave me the biggest hug ever, and told me that she was proud of me. After she left I started accustoming myself to my knew surroundings and found something very interesting in my wristlet; My sneaky mother had tucked my fortune in there.

I’ve carried that stupid little fortune around with me everywhere since my first (second?) day of college. Its been taped on my phone, and every time I feel overwhelmed or like I can’t do something I look at it and I know that I can do and get through anything. 

This is the first time that I don’t have my fortune with me. Right before I came to South Africa I got a new phone and a new phone case but forgot to tape my fortune to it. It may seem insignificant or silly to most of you, but I’ve looked at those words every day and they’ve helped me get through everything from a massive research project to an emergency surgery. 

The beginning IS always the hardest but we make it through, we thrive, we live, we explore, we learn, we grow from the challenges and hardships we face. I wrote my fortune on a post-it note and stuck it on my map here, right next to the the states. I may be 9,000 miles away from home and have my occasional bouts of homesickness, but when I look at those words I know I’m going to be ok. This is just the beginning of my adventure, and I’m not giving up. 

Cheers,

A determined American