This week I want to blog about something that we all have to face at different times in our lives. It's rejection. It can be quite disappointing whether it's from a school you applied to, a grant or scholarship you applied for, or that amazing internship you were sure you would land. When you've worked so hard for something for so long it can seem like the world is over after you nervously open that dreaded letter.
I had one major goal when I started last semester. I wanted to study abroad in Bosnia. I applied for two different opportunities. One was a 9 month program to teach English in Banja Luka and the other was a scholarship for a project that I designed which would have taken me all over the country. Honestly, I was sure that one of those opportunities would work out. I spent A LOT of time preparing my applications and creating my project proposal. Long story short, neither opportunity panned out. Then, days later, my flimsy back up plan fell through as well. And now, I graduate in two short weeks and I have no idea what's next. I'm fairly sure that this is something that a lot of you are experiencing given the economy and the droves of people returning to school.
I was momentarily devastated when it became clear that I wasn't going abroad this summer. But, as I talked to my professors and a few other people I consider successful, I learned that rejection really is just a part of life. And, the more things you apply for the more rejections you are going to endure. But also, the more you apply for the closer you are to finding your next great adventure. And sometimes, the things you think you want the most aren't what you expected.
I asked Catherine Minter (my librarian mentor who I've mentioned in previous posts) about her experiences with rejection and also success. Catherine is exceptionally active in academia and has applied for and received many opportunities to study abroad. But sometimes, Catherine says, success isn't all it's cracked up to be.
When Catherine was applying for college, she applied to five British universities, her favorite being Oxford. When she was accepted by Oxford, she was elated. However, years later, as she was looking back over her application materials she realized that for every other application she had chosen to study law and languages. But at Oxford, she had to pick only one. She chose languages but now wonders if that was really the best choice.
"You see, if I hadn't gotten in to Oxford, I would've gone to some other place where I would've studied law, which I think would definitely have been the best career choice for me. It's a good example of how something we perceive as great success at a certain point in our lives can turn out to have been not such a blessing after all, when seen as part of a whole," Catherine said.
Carrie Donovan, another librarian who manages the blog squad, explains how when she was rejected from law school she found an opportunity that was even better.
'When I was graduating from IU with my B.A. in Spanish, I thought it would be great to go to Law School and I knew I wanted to continue to live in Bloomington and attend IU. So, I pursued this (quite single-mindedly, I might add) by studying and taking the LSAT and applying only to IU’s Law School (in Bloomington). I was rejected. I was devastated. It was such a blow to my ego, my confidence, and to my sense of self. I felt really set adrift afterwards and I had no idea what to do with my life. Anyway, I had worked in the Wells Library (then called the Main Library) throughout my undergraduate career and I knew a lot of the librarians I’d worked with had gotten their master’s degrees at IU. I talked to a few of them about this and decided to apply to the MLS (Master of Library Science) program. I was accepted and I’ve been happily employed as a librarian since graduating with this degree 10 years ago. I’m so happy that it worked out this way! As I truly believe I was meant to work in libraries. To say that everything happens for a reason seems a bit trite, but I think sometimes, there can be a bit of truth to it," Carrie said.
Although nothing can really take the bitter taste of rejection from your mouth, rest assured that many others are experiencing the same thing. And remember, one more rejection means you are that much closer to success!
Do you have stories to share?! Please add them to the comments section!
