We all have expectations of some sort. We expect the worst or the best of outcomes which helps us cope with the fact that life is unpredictable.
I came into Lewis & Clark College expecting to be an Environmental Studies major, what I didn’t expect was the reality of being an Environmental Studies major. I wanted to save the environment, I expected I would know exactly how to do that by the end of my four years. I cannot say I know how to save the environment, or even know what it would mean to “save the environment”, but I did learn some great skills to help me better understand how to tackle problems.
I did not expect that my concentration or my thesis would be what it is on. I did not expect that I would study abroad in Japan and Italy. I expected to feel uncomfortable in Japan, instead I felt almost more comfortable there than I do in Portland. I could give you a very long list of things I didn’t expect or didn’t match up to my expectations. The thing I have learned here is that it is not about expectations, it is about reality and taking life as it comes. Expectations are natural, but they can change the way I feel about reality when it happens. My expectations of my life at school, academically and socially, haven’t always made it easy to enjoy the present tense. When things don’t go as planned I can get flustered, bothered, displeased, etc., sometimes expectations make life difficult. But then again, sometimes when reality is better than my expectations, life is great.
I came to Lewis & Clark knowing that I was going to be an Environmental Studies major, and I expected to graduate as one. I am so glad that when reality didn’t match up with my expectations (not for the better) that I did not run or let that change my mind.