New Year’s. A time of resolutions, reflection, and fresh starts. My family used to come up with a motto for each year – something broader than a resolution, something that we could aim for as individuals and as a family. One year it was "regaining equilibrium," another it was "managing transitions." The tradition petered out after 2015: “maximizing opportunities”.
The inspiration was taking full advantage of with a two-year assignment in London, England. It was, after all, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. One decision my parents made – that did lead to some eight-year-old angst at first – was to not go back to the States at all during our time there. We decided to use all winter and summer breaks, long weekends, and any string of days off to travel around the United Kingdom and Europe. Maximizing opportunities, in this case, looked like minimizing transit time and jet lag. The strategy worked, and we visited 17 other countries in two years.
Maximizing opportunity wasn’t just about travel, though. Almost every weekend, we tried to go do something in London as a family. We’d make sure to go to special exhibits at museums, take advantage of seasonal opportunities like Christmas light displays or during (rare) nice weather have a picnic dinner. There was also a personal element to the idea. At school, I jumped on the chance to join extracurriculars like rock climbing or crocheting. After all, why not take the opportunity while it was in front of me?
This mindset continued through middle school and high school. While constantly switching schools definitely has downsides – having to wait another year to take the second year of a language, having no clue what your GPA actually is - there can be benefits. Carlisle High School had Quiz Bowl and Academic Decathlon, two extracurriculars that I enjoyed immensely and learned a lot from. I was sad to move to Arlington, where the high school offered neither of those things. But it did offer more AP courses, like economics and human geography, that I would never have had the chance to take in Carlisle. Losing the chance to compete in Academic Decathlon and Quiz Bowl stung, but I was still able to find an alternative opportunity.
An important corollary to maximizing opportunities is that sometimes, when seizing an opportunity, you will be scared or doubt yourself. And that’s okay! If you get through some initial discomfort, nine times out of ten, it will be worth it. Initially I was unsure about joining Bloom. I didn’t feel like I had an especially interesting perspective to offer, and writing had never been my favorite part of English class. But the chance to do work for an incredible organization was too good to pass up – and, there was a time limit on being a teenager.
Maximizing opportunities came full circle last year when I did a study abroad program in Copenhagen, Denmark over winter break. Eight years after leaving Europe as a fifth grader, I was back! At first, I was hesitant to apply for the trip. Would the travel and busy days be too much for me? Would I fit in as a biology major, since the trip was more sociology based? But then I took a step back and thought about it. Study abroad is a quintessential college thing, and I was already in my second year, so there were not that many more breaks where I could fit in a trip like this. And even if I got rejected, why not apply? I wasn’t the person who had to decide if I was a good fit or not. Plus, I could offer a different perspective, not just as a biology major, but as me – someone who has seen multiple states, spent time overseas, lives with chronic illnesses, and has done health policy advocacy. So, I hit submit on my application and then waited anxiously for a few weeks... incidentally, also a military experience.
The trip to Denmark was nothing short of incredible. Within the first few days, I felt silly for ever doubting whether or not I should go. My roommate and I got along great, and were friends before the end of the trip. The whole group had a great time, in addition to being dubbed the best ever intensive course abroad group. I applied maximizing opportunities on a micro level, trying to spend as little time in the hotel room as possible. I thought of younger me, living in a foreign country for the first time, torn between excitement and homesickness. Most of all, I felt grateful to my parents for choosing, all those years ago, to take this big, scary opportunity given to us by the Army and run with it.
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