I feel like the last seven months have been a series of serendipitous events, right place, right time sort of thing. Some people like to see it as happy accidents or fate. Whatever it is, I feel it’s presence in my life.
On a whim, I decided to take a sports radio class at DePaul. Not ever considering radio as a career path, I was taking it to fulfill my last journalism requirement for my degree and to learn about a different style of writing and broadcasting. Little did I know what I was in store for. My teacher happened to be Laurence Holmes who is not only a DePaul Alum, but he also has his own radio show weeknights on 670 The Score. Since the first day I was having a blast and loved going to class everyday. Laurence was always supportive of my work, putting up with my questions, and connecting me to great people. Having his support inspired me to continue looking into this field and ultimately lead to my internship at The Score working on his show. I have a blast two nights a week while learning a lot. He continues to teach me and support me which only drives me to work harder and learn more. I can’t put into words how important it is to have a mentor who wants to see you succeed.
Aside from that, I am getting into the best shape of my life. As most people did, I had a lot of confidence issues when I was younger. Somehow, you reach a point that you just stop caring what everyone thinks of you and accept the fact that there will be people who love you and people who hate you, you start to just be happy with yourself and change yourself because of a flaw you see in yourself, not because someone else feels you are flawed. No one is perfect. If you present yourself well and are happy putting your best self out there, then who cares what anyone else thinks of you? So I have started working out, I’m forcing myself to start running more, and eventually, I want to run a marathon, something I never imagined I would ever do. The best part of it all is that I am doing it for myself. I feel better, healthier, and maybe I’ll inspire someone else to get healthier too!
I have also met some really great people lately. People who teach me, support me, encourage me and push me. There are times when I don’t have much confidence in myself, my work, my performance, whether it be in the gym or in my work, and these people push me through it. They encourage me and build up that confidence and reassure me that they will be there whether I succeed or fail. I hope they know how much I appreciate that and how important it is to me.
I also know that a big part of the reason my life is going the way it is right now is because of God. I pray everyday and although I always start with prayers of thanksgiving, they typically end with prayers for strength and guidance. So I know my prayers are being answered and the Lord knows that right now, I need that strength and guidance and He has put those important people in my life to help me through this huge transition time in my life.
So having recently graduated, I have my journalism degree, I’m continuing to work photography jobs and learning more about that field, I’ve been working my butt off, I’m never home with my retail job, my internship, and trying to maintain a social life, but it will all be worth it. I’m working hard, I have people to fall back on when I get burnt out or stressed out and they get me back on my feet. So I’m going to keep working hard, keep learning and keep putting myself out there and hope that my serendipitous streak continues until I am ultimately completely independent, happy, successful, and ready to pay it forward to anyone who needs that little extra boost in their life.
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. 2 Tim 1:7
Cathy Limanowski 