Shortly before I graduated from high school, I opened a fortune cookie that would change my life forever.
"The work of the world cannot wait for perfect people," it read.
I was a girl who was plagued by self-doubt throughout high school - a girl in love with the idea of going off to college (proudly sporting a Penn sweatshirt during her senior spring) but who was terrified of messing up an experience that she knew could impact her entire future.
It's strange the power that 10 words can have on your life. I was immediately struck with the feeling that this fortune had been printed and stuck in a cookie just for me find. Ten words on a tiny slip of paper gave me the reassurance I needed: Going to college would give me the tools to do the work of moving the world forward, even if it meant making a few mistakes along the way.
During my freshman year I regularly perused The Daily Pennsylvanian. Every once in a while I would see ads in the DP inviting students to attend info sessions about opportunities to join the editorial department. I enjoyed writing, and the idea of participating in such a vast news organization run entirely by college students excited me.
But nerves got in the way, and I made up any number of excuses for myself to get out of attending the info sessions: I had a midterm to study for, I was behind in my reading for class, or there was a new episode of "The O.C." to watch. They were excuses that I used to mask my fear of walking into an office full of people I didn't know with no journalism experience to boost my confidence.
In between "O.C." episodes I had a lot of time to reflect those 10 words that had given me such assurance before I got to Penn. It took an entire year, but finally the excuses got old and I headed over to the DP office during the fall of my sophomore year for an info session hosted by the News department.
That meeting was the start of a three-year stint at The Daily Pennsylvanian, where I started as a General Assignments reporter and ultimately joined the 123rd Board as Assignments Editor.
It took the support and encouragement of my own Assignments Editor to allow me to begin to develop confidence and ability in news reporting. When I had the chance to apply for an editorial position on the 123rd Board, I knew I wanted do for new reporters what he had done for me.
With its long hours, unforgiving deadlines and inevitable drama that occurs when you work in a windowless office five nights a week, my year as Assignments Editor was my most challenging undertaking during my time at Penn. However, it also taught me how to be a teacher, a mentor and a team member.
In the midst of completing my English major, I discovered that my fortune was actually a passage from George Eliot's Scenes of Clerical Life: "The blessed work of helping the world forward, happily does not wait to be done by perfect men."
Eliot believed that society progresses in a rational way, with one action naturally leading to another. By making certain choices we set in motion a sequence of outcomes. For me, choosing to overcome my fears to attend an information session led to my participation in one of the most prestigious college news organizations in the country. My experience at the DP certainly wasn't perfect, but without making mistakes along the way it would not have taught me nearly as much, nor would it have been nearly as meaningful.
After graduation I'll be teaching English Language Arts to students in New York City's under-resourced schools. Anytime I begin to feel overwhelmed by the idea of teaching kids who may be several grade levels behind in reading and writing, I recall George Eliot's words. I will not be the best English teacher ever (at least, not for a while), but I will do my best to ensure that my students have the opportunity to receive the best education I can give them.
My advice for the Class of 2008: Embrace a little fortune-cookie wisdom. It is important for each one of us to recognize that we have the ability to change the world for the better, no matter our so-called imperfections.
So go out into the world. Make your mistakes. And in spite of your mistakes, recognize that you can still make meaningful contributions.
Anne Dobson is a College senior from Seattle, Wash. and a former Assignments Editor.
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