Opportunity is Always Just Around the Corner

When you keep showing up, you create your own luck. Things won’t just fall into your lap—but by getting up and getting out there you put yourself in a position to make good things happen.

Taking the Right Steps

Back when I was a student at UCF I made an agreement with myself that I would get out of the apartment as much as possible. Afterall, I didn’t move all the way up to Orlando just to sit around by myself. Why do that when there was an entire campus full of stuff to do, people to meet, and sights to see less than 5 minutes away?

As much as I enjoyed the festivity of getting out and sampling everything the landscape had to offer, sometimes what I really enjoyed was just taking a seat on a bench and looking around at the people walking by. It was interesting to see that in a way, everyone was having a different experience. You would see groups of friends walking by smiling and laughing. You would see folks with their head down looking lonely and upset. You would see guys looking upbeat, alert, and confident. You would occasionally catch a guy walking up to a girl to ask for directions. And so on.

A Blessing From Above

I remember one day in particular sitting out in my usual spot when all of a sudden I heard what sounded like people rapping. I could hear music playing, and I could hear the banter of what sounded like a freestyle cypher, so I had to go over there and check it out. In walking over to the pavilion, it turned out I was right. It was a whole group of people and everybody was taking turns chiming in over the instrumental. As it turned out, this was an organized event. Not officially through the school, but something that was put together through the student body. After joining in, talking to some of the guys, and hanging out for a bit, I remember walking away and thinking to myself, man, how cool was that?

I would make an effort to come back every Tuesday as much as I could, and I got to know a few of the regulars that would come out there. I actually still keep up with a couple of them to this day. And through talking to one of the guys there, he hooked me up with a handful of connects for venues that would host showcases, networking events, and freestyle cyphers in the area. When the weekend would roll around and I had nothing going on I would ride downtown to check out those venues, watch the showcases, and network with the other local artists.

It’s amazing how much good came out of that simple decision just to get out of the house and hang out on campus instead. I could have easily spent that same chunk of time sitting at home and hanging on the couch, but what good would that have really done?

A Girl Next Door

When the pandemic rolled around in March it shut down the campus and shut down the ability to get out and do the things mentioned above. But, that didn’t stop me from making the best of what I had. I would go out and take walks around the apartment complex, hit the basketball court for workouts, go fishing by the lake, and so on. While walking around, I would occasionally see a girl with a friendly smile. After a few encounters, I realized she actually lived right next door.

When I happened to notice her out on the front balcony talking on the phone one afternoon I took it as an opportunity to introduce myself. I pulled up a chair and we chatted for a little while. This front balcony time turned into a somewhat regular thing for a short time, and we eventually ended up swapping numbers and spending a bit more time together.

Even though I was a little bummed when she moved out a few weeks later, I remember feeling grateful at how things had worked out. It just shows that when you keep showing up and doing the right things, you put yourself in the position to find the right opportunities.

Keeping It Going

I will admit that as I’ve been home, it’s been a little hard to maintain the spirit of optimism I had when I was living in Orlando. In living in a bigger city there was a feeling that at any day you could strike gold. Whether that be meeting someone influential, discovering or learning something new, or just in general doing something cool. Being in a smaller city I find that it is harder to tap into new ground, grow in new areas, and have new experiences. But again, that doesn’t stop me. Opportunity is always just around the corner, and as we head into 2025, I look forward to that being the case.