Yes, I was on Jeopardy. I met Alex Trebek. I won $10,000. I met lifelong friends and it certainly helped me get into the college of my dreams. Yes, it’s a great fun fact to share in icebreaker activities and to help distinguish myself in interviews for jobs and internships.
But, I also made myself look like a complete idiot on national television. It gives people the impression that I am much smarter than I actually am, and I showcased to the world that I have a terrible habit of saying “Uhh” after nearly every phrase I utter.
Despite both of these varying degrees of happiness or shame, my experience on the Jeopardy!Teen Tournament was once-in-a-lifetime, and all I had to do was say “yes.”
Rare opportunities present themselves at pivotal moments in life. My experience took place during my sophomore year of high school, a rather rough period of time for my personal development. I was battling eating disorders and depression, balancing my work with my extracurriculars proved to be a challenge, and I found myself aimlessly working towards a blurry future during my sophomore year of high school. But all I did was say “Yes,” and my world turned upside down.
For many, these types of opportunities may not have them fly all over the country, complete difficult interviews, and answer countless numbers of questions about the capitals of the world or random facts about pop culture. These opportunities can take the form of college acceptances, rare job offers, and even winning the lottery. The process of saying “Yes” may vary from opportunity to opportunity; however, you are still opening yourself up to minimal failure or unbelievable success.
Saying "yes" is not hard — it’s simply the opposite of saying "no," a word that I feel we as a society are too comfortable saying nowadays. Say "yes" to skydiving or rock climbing or scuba diving or travelling the world. Say "yes" to medical school or running for class president or buying a new car. Say "yes" to a Fortune 500 company interview or submitting your résumé to an unlikely employer. Say "yes" to buying flowers for your significant other. Say "yes" to having kids. Say "yes" to taking risks, making mistakes, and being wrong. Say "yes" even when you’re afraid to say no.
I used to be afraid of messing up. But now I’m more afraid of being the loser who hasn’t experienced anything in life. I want those life-long experiences to talk about to my kids and grandkids. I want to be able to inspire future generations by taking the time out of my day to agree to bungee jump or climb Mt. Everest.
Life has a very funny way of working. We are presented with countless opportunities at any given moment. It’s always easy to say no. Many people do. They let the world pass by them and they carry on with their day-to-day lives, going through the motions.
So here’s my charge: Say yes to unexpected opportunities every once in a while.
Be daring. Be adventurous. Be spontaneous.
Just say "yes." There’s nothing stopping you.
