A Piece of Good Advice
Everyone has that one piece of advice that has stuck with them their whole life. Whether it came from a parent, friend, or someone else, a good piece of advice sticks to us for years. When thinking about where I should find advice at Morningside College, walking through Lewis Hall, only one person came to mind. I met President Reynders my freshman year when I joined the President Scholars book club. I have also become very good friends with his step-son Chuck over the past two years and that has given me the opportunity to get to know the President a little more. He is a very respected man on campus and I wondered what the best piece of advice he has ever been given was.
The president lounged in a chair in the lobby of his office as he and his secretary Lisa joked about who between them could give the best advice. After a little coaxing the president what hs best advice was we got, “Work towards your goals everyday.” This piece of advice was given to President Reynders by Andy Ford, his old boss from the college in Pennsylvania he worked at before Morningside. He went on to ask me what my biggest goal in life was. I then expressed my passion for opening my own dance studio. From there he continued with his wise words. He told me, every morning one must wake up, look in the mirror, and ask oneself, “What can I do today to work toward achieving my goals?” Then at night the same must be done but you must ask oneself “What did I do today that helped work toward my goal.” This process of tasks is meant to keep your focus on the important stuff in life and how to achieve our goals.
Reynders went on to ask my classmate Lindsay Martin, who was also in the room, what her goals were. She replied that she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. As accepting and proper as ever, the President responded with the idea that it was totally ok to not know what one wanted to do right now. He was in that same position when he was in college. He then gave us an adjustment to the previous process. In this case, in the morning, one must ask themselves in the mirror “What can I do today to figure out what I want to do with my life?”
The President seemed very pleased that we felt comfortable enough to come in and ask him this question. I was very interested in what he had to say because of how successful and generous a man he was, he must have done something right in his life. What started off as a pretty awkward and confusing assignment about nickels and doodles and conversations, ended up providing me with one of those pieces of advice that sticks with you in the long run.