Of Mice and Me

“The best-laid plans of mice and men go oft awry.”

Yeah, that phrase is cliche’...
But it still rings true.

Lately, I’ve been pondering what it actually means to plan something. I’ve seen a lot of my friends frantically trying to figure out what they want to do after graduation, wondering how a certain situation will get resolved, etc. Still, most (if not all) of them have grand ideas and high hopes for the future.

I have many grand ideas of what I’d like to see myself doing after graduation, but that does not mean a thing. Economies change. Circumstances change. Priorities change. What we think is ideal doesn’t always happen. Nothing is ever certain; we just make our plans and hope for the best. That’s the best we can do.

BUT, there is hope, and that's a comfort. Having hope for the future requires one to place a great deal of trust in something. I choose to place my trust in God and what he has planned.

What’s that one Bible verse I always heard growing up? Oh yeah--

‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’ ~ Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

He has plans for me, and I have to trust that they’re better than my own.

This summer was not what I had planned. I had grand ideas of gallivanting off to some other country to meet my university’s cross-cultural trip requirement then coming back to the U.S. and getting a great internship in another city. I, instead, have been taking classes and working in my hometown because I was a bit short on the money I needed to make those plans happen. I’m not complaining though. That just goes to show that my plans do go oft awry.

So, I’m learning to trust that my plans, as grand as I usually think they are, may not always need to happen when or how I think they should happen. My original ones might not have been the best for me right now. I’ve had such realizations about other things in the past. Hindsight is 20/20, you know. I’m just glad my God puts up with me and my superfluous plans.

My issues with [newspaper] issues

I'm planning to go into journalism.
I'm also beginning to learn that the "planning" part
can't stick around too long.
After all, action has to happen at some point!

In my spare time (which is very rare), I have been researching internships.
I do sometimes feel like I'm getting ahead of myself.
I'm only a college sophomore!
Still, I won't reprimand myself too harshly for my high hopes.
I'm glad I've found something I'm that excited about.
There are too many possibilities!

Yesterday, I was in the Carolinas,
visiting some of my family for Easter weekend.
We ate at a restaurant in North Carolina,
and I saw a local newspaper for sale outside.
I froze.
This paper was one of my internship possibilities.
On the way out, I bought one to read on the way back to my hometown.

Back in town late last night, we stopped at a convenience store for my family's Sunday tradition of buying papers
(a combination of our appreciation for them and my mom's recent interest in the "art" of coupon clipping).
With two more papers in hand, the same thought that made me freeze earlier in the day caught my attention again.

I pulled all three of the papers into my lap and looked at them, coming to the realization that I could, in time, be writing for any one of them.
What a profound realization that was.

I often have friends ask me where I want to go
with "this whole journalism thing."
Do I have a dream paper, one I've always dreamed of writing for?
I don't think so.
I'm just praying for open doors.

However, advice a friend gave me last week is
still running through my head.
Basically, it was that I shouldn't be afraid to "go big" with my career.
"Big" referring to both my future achievements and my "ability" to write for some specific large, well-known newspapers.

It's sometimes scary having people believe in you.

I'm pondering if I would be willing to "go big"
if those doors were opened to me.
I suppose I just need to be smart enough to not let myself be afraid of opportunity.
God, give me wisdom...