From 1994 through 1999, I attended college full-time.
First, I attended Manchester Community College, followed by Trinity College and St. Joshpeph’s University simultaneously, where I earned degrees in English and elementary education.
I was also managing a McDonald’s restaurant on Prospect Avenue in Hartford, Connecticut full-time.
I also launched my wedding DJ company.
I also worked in the Writing Centers at both Trinity College and St. Joseph’s University.
While attending Manchester Community College, I also served as President of the National Honor Society, Student Council Treasurer, and a columnist for the college newspaper.
While at Trinity College, I was a writer on the school’s newspaper.
I also graduated near the top of my class at every school I attended. I did so well at Manchester Community College that Trinity, Wesleyan University, and Yale University all offered me full scholarships.
Looking back at that time — two full-time college degree programs, a full-time job, launching a company, and diving into extracurricular activities — I sometimes wonder how I managed to do it all.
Then I read this quote and understood.
“In a race between a lion and a deer, many times, the deer wins because the lion runs for food and the deer runs for life.”
I was the deer.
Purpose is more important than need.
When I stepped into that college classroom for the first time, I was running for my life. I knew exactly what I was running away from.
In the two years before making it to college, I was homeless. Arrested, jailed, and tried for a crime I did not commit. For a time, I struggled to eat and stay warm.
I was also the victim of a horrific, violent crime that would leave me with a lifetime of PTSD.
The lion had nearly caught me on several occasions.
But when I set foot on a college campus for the first time, I had managed to put a little distance between me and that lion of my past. I was going to be sure it never caught me again.,
Attending college full-time. Working full-time. Launching a company. Engaging in all kinds of campus leadership opportunities and extracurricular activities.
All of that seemed simple compared to the past I had just escaped.
It felt necessary to keep that lion as far away as possible.
I had no choice. I either flourished or died.
I was the deer, running for my life, so nothing was going to stop me.
It wasn’t even a difficult time in my life. Compared to the past, it was glorious.
I’ll add my own adendum to this metaphor of the deer and the lion:
The lion often ends the day with an empty belly. The deer finishes the day filled with joy. It’s still alive and able to live another day. It’s overwhelmed by gratitude and appreciation.
Maybe even a little pride.
After escaping death, nothing ever seems quite as challenging for the deer anymore.
Every day thereafter feels like a precious gift.
We should all be lucky enough to be chased by a lion at least once in our lives. Maybe even a few times.
And escape, of course.
