With my 30th birthday less than a month away (!), now is probably a better time than ever to get as much of my life, the story of my first 30 years, out there. It is important to me know and share where I have been and use it as a vehicle to drive me toward where I eventually want to be.
One of the greatest achievements of my 20s occurred in 2012 when I completed my first marathon. To say that it was an arduous task would vastly undersell the difficulty of the task. It was tiring. It was painful. It was accomplished. I no longer run significantly long distances (due to a number of factors but primarily due to the fact that these days I train for different goals), but I look back fondly on what I accomplished.
One factor more than any other propelled me to success in marathon training and running. It was not my vast experience with running. In fact, prior to December 2011 I had never run longer than 2.5 miles in a single run, let alone 26.2 miles. It certainly was not my athletic ability. Instead, it was my resolve. I determined that I was going to run a marathon and would not let anything stand in my way. Through weather, injuries, and other obstacles, still I persisted.
As I reflect on my life to this point, there are a number things of which I am proud (and, admittedly, a number of things I would prefer to forget). One of the character traits of which I am most proud is that resolve, that mental toughness, that refusal to quit. I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today were it not for that mental toughness.
I know I have mentioned it on a number of occasions, but it bears repeating that my professional journey has been anything but linear. My teaching career started as a substitute teacher. While I was fortunate to live with my parents (which helped to avert any potential financial crisis as a result of my very sporadic employment), it was still difficult to keep going when dozens of doors slammed in my face. By the time the summer of 2012 came around, my parents told me to start thinking of alternative plans for my life because it was getting to a point that I could not wait much longer. Still, I believed. I was patient, and by the end of that summer I had my first full time teaching position.
Nearly a year to the day of finally receiving that first teaching job, I found out that I was one of a number of teachers who were laid off to start the school year. Something in my heart told me that I still belonged at that school, so I did everything I could to be the first teacher that was brought back. What I did not know at the time is that my resolve to return to AAA Academy would result in me working for free for a number of months. I did exactly that because I believed that in the end, I would be where I wanted to be. It took over three months, but I got my job and old classroom back. When I realized that it was time to move on from the school, I had to endure a number of closed doors and near misses before getting to where I wanted to be. If I had simply given up due to past experience and the weight of prior failure, I never would have gotten this far in my career.
The more I reflect on my resolve and patience, I think of the doors that have opened as a result. There are friendships that bloomed that never would have been possible if I had simply walked away at the first sign of trouble. There are people I never would have met in person, things I never would have done, and places I never would have visited were it not for this stubborn desire to persist. I have always operated under the principle that if I give up now, I might be giving up just a moment too soon. The idea of not waiting long enough is one that has driven me to the path of patience and persistence, and I would not be where I am today were it not for it.
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