"I haven't seen you for so long. I thought you dropped out."
A kid I'd shared a dorm with during orientation said that to me. Beginning of my second year of engineering at Michigan, maybe.
I'd started a year earlier. 17 years old with no clue what I was doing.
Never studied in high school because I never had to. Michigan graded on a curve, and most of the kids in my classes had finished at the top of their high school classes.
Lived at home to save money. Didn't have a car or the money for one yet. Carpooled with my sister, who was at a local community college before transferring to Michigan State the next semester. The drive was 45 minutes.
No cell phone. A calling card and a payphone.
Worked to help pay for school. Pier 1 Imports, selling candles, furniture, decorations, you name it. Rode my bike to work, rain or shine. Later a job in a research lab, and eventually residential construction.
Through all of it, I still had to find time for meetings, studying, and office hours.
The time I did have, I didn't use well.
Played a lot of basketball when I should have been studying. Needed a fun, positive outing.
"Just 30 minutes," I'd tell myself.
That turned into an hour. Then three hours.
A few hours before the exam, I'm flipping through a chemistry textbook thinking, yeah, I probably should have read this a little closer.
I struggled hard. My grades showed it.
Then that kid from orientation thought I'd dropped out.
That did not sit well.
Right away I said something like, I thought you were the one who dropped out.
He'd switched majors. Still in the engineering college, but more business than engineering. Engineering students called it the fake engineering degree.
No matter how hard things get, I don't quit.
I wasn't the best student or the most organized. Made mistakes along the way. But I kept going.
Somehow, I figured it out and became an orthopedic surgeon.
I've had a lot of success in my life. Plenty of failures and challenges too.
If I could find my way through that mess, there's hope for you in whatever tough situation you're facing.
Even if you're in a bind and can't see a way to where you want to go, there's still a chance.
Don't give up.
This week, tell someone about a time you struggled and kept going. The person next to you may need to hear it.
The good thing is, a rough start is still a start.
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9
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Good Thing Monday goes out every Monday. One story, one good thing.
Tell me your good thing this week. I read every one.