This article is very personal for me because there have been times in my life where I had to sit and think about what was really important to me. I came to a place that a lot of people have come called a crossroad. My crossroad was not more significant that anyone else’s but my decision seemed like it was so hard to make. When I stopped to think about what really mattered I was able to make rational decisions.
Before I go further I will say, people come to a crossroads at different stages of life so we can’t judge someone because they don’t make decisions as fast or as slow as us. The best thing we can do is be patient with others and allow them time to make their own decisions Also we must understand that if a person makes a mistake that’s something they have to live with not you.
I will personally tell you that my crossroad came at very important moment in my life and when it arrived I didn’t know what was going on. All I knew was that I felt like I wasn’t doing enough and I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere in life. Everybody around me told me “You’re ahead of the game” but I didn’t believe it because I didn’t see any results. I thought to myself “Why do I not see what they see?,
I joined the military to go to college and to gain job experience so I could get out after 4 years and work what we called a regular job. I had another career that I was very passionate about in the entertainment industry so I had to figure out a way to make it all work. I realized after serving in the military 3 years that I hadn’t really accomplished much with school or my entertainment career and I was at a cross road.
I ordered my college transcripts and noticed I had taken 4 classes but they weren’t classes that could be used toward my degree. I looked at my entertainment career resume and noticed I wasn’t doing shows that were really beneficial my career. I was going in circles which made me very tired and frustrated.
One day I was sitting my couch in my apartment and began to talk to myself about the things I was doing and I asked my self the question “Does this make sense what I’m doing?””Why am I doing all of this?, “Why do I feel like I’m just working so hard and not getting anywhere?”, “Am i really supposed to be doing all of this or am I fooling myself?”
After 20 minutes passed I said to myself “You have to find a way to make this work”. So I prayed and I asked God to show me how I could make it all work with school, a military career and an entertainment career. One week later my education advisor called me at work and said “We would like for you to come in and talk with us about your degree plan”.
I went to the office and started to see which classes I needed to take and which classes I could CLEP which is a test you take to bypass taking the actual class but receive 3 to 6 credits taking the test. I started by getting the study guides needed to prepare to take the test and I moved forward from there.
When I decided to devote more time to school, I realized my entertainment career had to become secondary. The military isn’t something to take lightly and I took for granted things like free education, free uniforms, my paycheck and I didn’t have to worry about the small things that a lot of people had to worry about so I made it a point to give my military career 110% of my effort and time.
While doing this evaluation I realized most entertainers work on the weekends and I didn’t have to invest a lot of time during the week. So I stopped calling around during the week for work in clubs and bars and I allowed people to start calling me because I had already worked in every local establishment. The thing that made more sense was to go and finish school because education is very important.
Moving to Hollywood wasn’t an option anymore. Most entertainers spend a life time trying to make millions of dollars and some never reach that goal. My plan was to retire from the military after 20 years of service which would make me a 38 years old. After 20 years my entertainment career should have grown and I can now depend on that as well as a retirement check from the military.
So now that I have told you my story about my cross road I pray that you look at your life and figure out what is most important in your life. The decision is yours and you have a lot more power to choose that you think. I am proud of my decision and I hope that after you do your self evaluation and make the best decision possible for yourself. My prayer is that you’ll be happy with your decision just like I am happy with mine.