The picture above displays the most important people to me in the world. We all came onto the team in 2008 and on day one became inseperable- we sat together every dinner and laughed for hours, we dried each other's tears, we broke each other of bad habits, helped each other through personal firsts, lessons learned, personal breakthroughs, and pushed each other toward greater heights. Leaving them and the rest of my team behind is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Once I left, I felt like a piece of me had been broken off and it was a piece that I knew I couldn't replace. If you have not graduated yet- please listen to me now...ENJOY your teammates. The feeling of disconnection with teammates is a weird and unsettling feeling. I know that sometimes it can be difficult but you will see that once you get into the real world that these teammates are probably the best friends you will ever have.
There is no way that you can get through life by yourself- as much as your pride might try and convince you, you never did anything by yourself. Support, encouragement, inspiration, and motivation from people around you are what project you forward in life. We need to change the way we think about life's big projects. Instead of focusing on our individual limitations we need to step back and ask, "Who can be motivated to tackle this with me?" A lot of your teammates probably have the same questions, goals, dreams, and problems that you do and you can use each other to discover solutions to all of these things.
Nightmares will happen- it is inevitable with a group of people that spend 24/7 together but it is important to perservere through these times- by sticking together you get stronger and will accomplish great things.
For those of you who have graduated- you already understand the greatness that can come from collaboration... now you just have to find it in this phase of your life. True, it may never compare to the team you had at college but it will be perfect for you at this point in your life. Every phase and every person happens for a reason- these phases are waiting for you to run through them...but you cannot do it alone. Disconnect yourself from your personal limitations- step back- and find yourself a team and go get things done.
SHOUT OUT TO MY TEAMMATES! I miss you guys...know the impact you have had on my life and continue to make that impact on each others'
