Motivational Moment

Alright, if you are watching this now and you’ve done your modules in exact order, you are at module 8.

You are 95% done with College 101 Student Orientation here at Texarkana College, and I wanted to take a couple of minutes to one, encourage you, but also to remind you the importance of reflecting even on this small journey that you have completed during these orientation sessions.

Yes, I’m coming to you. From my office here in enrollment services where many of you have had to come through to either get your student ID to get registered for courses, to get a testing ticket, whatever it was, many people have already passed through this office.

Two years ago I was attending a conference and when I was attending the conference, – I don’t know if you’ve ever seen in some large metropolitan cities they have scooters.

You can get on a scooter. You take your phone and it has an app and you download the app and then you hop on the scooter and you can ride it around town. I thought it would be cool to get on the scooter and ride around town.

And as I was getting on the scooter riding on town I noticed I had to get my balance together and so once I got my balance I was on the scooter and I was riding around getting it so to say.

And as I was riding around, there were these two kids that come out of nowhere and it’s either me hitting the kids or stopping the scooter. Well, I had forgotten where the brakes were on the scooter, and so needless to say I fall off of the scooter and it was embarrassing.

OK, I fell off of a scooter in Dallas, TX in the front of the Omni Hotel. OK, so I’m giving you a location. I mean what happened and so as I’m falling off of the scooter, needless to say, I had to get back up.

I had to get back up on the scooter and while I didn’t necessarily get right back on the point was I had to get up. Be confident when you have to get back up we all will fall while you’re on this journey here at Texarkana College.

You will have moments where you fall, be confident and get back up, get back on the scooter. Don’t stay down for long, get back up.

And so I got back on the scooter and I wasn’t staying at the Omni Hotel I was actually staying at the Hyatt which was not just across the street.

It was around the way and so in order for me to get back.

It was ride this scooter or walk back to the hotel. The walk was too long and so I needed to take this scooter back from the Omni to the Hyatt and so regardless of the fall I had to get back to the finish.

My finish destination was for me to get back to the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Your finish destination is for you to get through graduation whether or not you’re in a 1 year certificate, whether or not you’re in a 2 year associates whether or not you’re just getting courses to transfer whatever it is for you, you have to get to the finish line, get to the finish line, so be confident and get back up when you fall. Get to the finish line. But lastly, once you get to the finish line, tell your story.

And so I had a scar in my face. You can still see that scar, right there that’s from the fall. And so in this case I had to tell my story because people actively saw blood, and so in that case I was telling my story.

Hey, I had a fall.

Over at the Omni, I was riding one of those scooters and for whatever reason I just fell off.

But in your case you’re telling your story about your completion.

You’re telling your story about your journey.

Maybe you’re telling your story about just being able to complete this orientation today.

Whatever it is, you have power in your words, you have power in your fall. You have power in your finish, and so be confident when you get back up, get to the finish and tell your story.

Tell your story. Inspire others, get others to start their degree or certificate.

Tell others about the process that you went through at TC.

Tell others about the faculty and the staff.

Tell others about your journey.

Lessons learned from my fall.