Claudia Tezel

Journal Entry #2

For many people, including myself, it’s difficult to understand how some

“failings” or “misdirections” in life aren’t all negative. Every event leads to a new

opportunity. As cliché as it is, “when one door closes, another one opens” is very true,

especially in reference to Luck Is No Accident by John Krumboltz. The general message

of Chapters 1-3 is that life rarely turns out how you plan it. There is no way to know what

will happen, and stubbornly sticking to one life plan, when there are other opportunities

for growth, will narrow your chances for happiness. If something unexpected is

happening, lean in to it. You never know what will happen or where it will take you. I

believe these messages are important and very correct. At this point in time, there’s no

real way to know which direction my life is going to in. I feel as if I need to be open to

the possibilities, and if I find a direction in which I want to take my life, I need to take the

appropriate actions to make it happen. In Chapter 2, the three most relevant suggestions

to me are “You Don’t Need to Commit to a Future Goal,” “Avoid Tunnel Vision,” and

“Liberate Yourself From Unrealistic Expectations.” Often, I find myself feeling as if I

need to have every part of my professional career figured, out and I loss myself in these

endless hypotheticals. I hold myself to a standard that sometimes is irrational. Chapter 2

talks me down from these absurd notions. The most important thing to me about Chapter

6 and 7 is the actions necessary to succeed. You can’t be expected to get what you want

without working for it. Additionally, no one is expected to know everything going into

something for the first time. There is a learning curve for everyone. I’m afraid to pursue

certain things because I don’t think I’m qualified for them. But, that is life, trying new
things and learning from them. The adult fan I spoke to knows full well about

happenstance. Happenstance are the coincidences that alter your life path. My adult fan

has always been an entrepreneur, but happenstance and random opportunities has taken

him from newspaper delivery, to valeting, to designing and manufacturing clothing, to

selling olive oil. He is not one to turn down an opportunity if it appeals to him. Showing

him the career resources we have at Wake, like Handshake, elicited a very positive

response from him. He wishes he had access to such a resource while he was in school.