I grew up on a beef farm in a town of 250 people. I went to preschool, elementary, middle, and high school all in one place. I had the same set of peers my entire upbringing, played on the same sports teams for 14 years, and showed pigs at the same county fair every summer. I envisioned myself going to a small college, marrying young, and living on the exact farm where I grew up. It is a perfectly fine course of life to take—it’s just so not me.
still have to rely on. Nevertheless, I met with my school counselor feeling confident about applying. She responded by handing me a pamphlet for the local technical college, telling me: “Madison is going to be a little too big forI left feeling an inch tall and went to my Future Business Leaders of America advisor to tell him of my over-ambition. He simply responded, “You’re going to UW.” Two months later, I received my acceptance letter.
I went on to work for Wisconsin Badger Athletics and ultimately accepted a job offer in New York City with the world’s most prominent sports agency.After knowing the same people my whole life, it became apparent how inadequate I was at making new friends based on connection rather than convenience. Everyone around me was a stranger, while simultaneously everyone back home started to feel more like strangers, too.
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