Taking Chances

Before my junior year of high school, I had only heard of LRTC, I didn’t know anything about what they actually did there, or why people would go there for 3 hours every other day. When I became a junior, I initially had no intent of joining the program, but when my parents and some teachers started saying that I should join the information technology program there, I got a feeling that told me that if I didn’t take the opportunity, then I would be missing out on something important. Just in my first month there I started to see the doors that this program was opening for me, my issue was deciding which one I wanted to choose. This choice ended up being made when I learned about SkillsUSA, which all students at LRTC are required to compete in, where I ended up deciding to compete in cyber security, though with everyone being required to compete in a skill this decision was made more out of panic. I began dreading the competition date because I had no idea how to properly prepare myself for it and when that day came I still didn’t think I was prepared in the slightest, but I ended up coming out of the competition more prepared than when I went in, plus a bronze medal and a newfound respect for the often unnoticed work that cyber security professionals do. This was the point where I finally came to realize what I wanted to do with my life. 

I also realized the importance of taking chances, because if I had not taken the chance to join LRTC then I would have never learned all of the important job skills and life lessons that I did, and if I had not taken the chance to compete in cyber security without having the in depth knowledge that I thought I needed then I would have remained in confusion about my goals in life. At this point, I can’t say that I have an exact plan for colleges or internships when I graduate high school, but I know the direction I want to follow, I know there will be more chances to take and more opportunities to be presented to me, and I know that with all of the lessons I have been taught over my 2 years at LRTC I will be able to choose the opportunities that will bring me the most success and satisfaction with my life.

I hope that everyone realizes the importance of taking opportunities while they are available, as missing out on one could be the difference between great success and your life stagnating. But also to understand the line between reasonable risk taking and recklessness, and being able to admit that you were wrong if you take a risk that turned out to be a terrible mistake when on the job, instead of lying to keep your reputation intact.

“Wireshark Network Analyzer Screen” by Laurachappell is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.