Yesterday, whilst listening to Stephen Fry read his autobiography aloud through my earphones on my short walk home from the train station, it suddenly occurred to me that I’d never be able to attend Cambridge University.
This was not an entirely singular thought, as I’m sure you may at this point be worrying. I’d spend the better part of the past half hour listening to Stephen speak, as eloquently as he does, of the wonders of Cambridge and the incredible experience he had there many years ago.
I’ve never been inclined to attend, or even to visit Cambridge in the past. Nor Oxford, the LSE, MIT, Harvard, Stanford or the like, so why did I suddenly have such an inkling to attend any of these institutions, two years after graduating from my own?
I quickly realised, as I dodged cars and cyclists — so entranced I was in the book, that it wasn’t Cambridge or any other university itself that I was yearning for. No. I was yearning for an experience I realised I’d never have.
Upon this supposed realisation I almost had to slap myself out of these self-pitying feelings of loss for something I’d never even wanted. Why was this an experience I could never have?
Just because attending Cambridge, living in the Amazonian tree-tops, or becoming an amazing cartoonist (possibly the best the world has ever seen) isn’t on the lines of my current path, doesn’t mean it can’t be. It doesn’t mean I can’t fit it in, or work my way around it.
Nothing is impossible. I can almost feel you cringe as I write that, but I’m afraid it is true. In fact, taking a few minutes out of each day to sit down and research the possibility of doing something you never thought you would be able to do will likely bring up some surprising results.
Don’t assume anything is outside of your reach. Your possibilities are endless. If you want something hard enough, do the work and make it happen.
I’ll see you in the tree-tops.
###
| Tweet
|
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
So we should all really be as open to opportunity as possible? i.e.: sans mortgage, baggage etc.
Viva la Flexibility
Nicely put, I think being open to opportunity is something we, as human beings, struggle with immensely. Yet our openness and flexibility to allow these opportunities to come and go (either through our own making or completely by chance) is crucial.
We tend to forget that our lives aren’t bound by strict rules. If you want something, figure out how to get it.
What’s the quote I’m looking for? “Nothing is true, everything is permitted.” I think it’s fitting.
By the way, MIT and Harvard are beautiful, definitely visit at the very least if you get the chance.
Nice quote Adam, I’d say it’s very fitting!
I plan to make it across the pond to the east coast (NYC primarily, but I’m in it for the adventure) in the not too distant future. MIT and Harvard are in my line of vision!