Spring Break, a spiritual experience?

This week I have had the fortunate experience of spending a week in Clearwater, FL. The sun was shining, the weather great and the beaches beautiful. So, I took advantage of it and visited Clearwater beach, it was lovely. I have always felt a deep connectedness with the Ocean--amazing considering that I grew up in the desert--so almost everytime I visit the Ocean I always get a feeling a peace and serenity. This time, not only did I leave feeling peaceful but I left feeling inspired. What inspired me was simply walking along the beach and watching the waves come in. As I watched them, I thought "how boring, the repetition of the Ocean. Waves come in, then go out, they come in, then go out, Booorrring." Then it hit me, every wave is different. Although the action is the same, the effect is always different. This epiphany lead me to compare waves to our college experience. I've been told on many occassions that some of us will graduate and go on to be extremely wealthy and do things that we never dared to dream about. I've often wondered which one of us would that be. What makes the difference. Why is it that some people get jobs immediately after college while some never find the job they wanted. How is it that some English majors find interesting work and others end up working at jobs that they could've done without the extra "learning" they received at college.

I realized this week that although all of us are performing the same action (attending college) we will all have different results. Just like the waves in the Ocean, some of us will be tidal waves while others will just be ripples. The difference between a tidal wave and a ripple is the force behind it. Some of us have this force, the drive, the ambition, and the support to be tidal waves while others of us are only counting on the piece of paper we get on graduation day.

As a woman who was raised by a southern born mother, I was taught that to look out for self and be overly ambitious were undesirable characteristics. Ha! I wish everyone had been told that because I have noticed that the people who are willing to step out there, toot their own horns, and make it known that they are worthy of attention are always rewarded. If you don't believe me, just take a look at the show "Driven". I believe it's on MTV or VH-1. They always talk about the drive, ambition and sometimes not so subtle things that entertainers have done to get to where they are today. Not to say that I ever want to go after life with no regard to others but I've got to regard myself and determine that I am ambitious and not ashamed of it. I don't want to be just another ripple in the Ocean, I want to be a Tidal Wave.