Author's Note: this appeared in the August 30, 2017 edition of the Globe.
“We shouldn’t have to chase the ghosts of the future.”
That’s what I told my roommate a few days back with
regards to his anxiety over running into someone again with the start of
the new school year. The story isn’t relevant, but the advice is.
Let me be probably the 50th person to tell you: Welcome (back) to Point Park University.
By now you’ve probably had most of your classes. If
you’re lucky you’ve made some great friends or reconnected with some of
your favorite people. That said, a lot of unknowns lie ahead. I can’t
tell you if you’ll be cast in a show or how midterms will go or if that
cute girl you met in the elevator will agree to go out with you.
Here’s what I can tell you: a lot of that depends on your outlook.
Growing up, I was a really anxious kid when it came to
the start of school. Even in my senior year of high school, I was
nervous as to how classes would go and if I would successfully do all
the quintessential “senior year” things.
What I failed to acknowledge in those moments were the
opportunities that lie in a new day. Yes, you have no idea what life is
going to throw at you. But the future has not been set yet, and you
should use that to your advantage.
I’m still an incredibly nervous person (ask anyone on
this staff), but I have learned that the best approach to the unknown is
to acknowledge it and react proactively. Plan for the future, but be
willing to throw that plan out the window if it doesn’t fall into place.
If you’re holding a copy of the Globe today or reading us
online, that means we did something right. We’ve had major issues with
the technology that we rely on to lay out the paper. All the writing was
done over the summer break by our volunteer writing army. And of
course, news broke that changed our coverage plan. With so many moving
parts, at one point last week I wasn’t sure we would get the paper out.
Again, I forgot possibility in the mix, and the power of
the team we’ve assembled. Over 50 people banded together – designers,
writers, photographers, delivery folks and editors – and made this
edition not only possible, but a beautiful testament to student-run and
student-driven journalism on campus.
From the very first edition of the Globe, we’ve been
looking for contributors from all perspectives. As we have since 1967,
we relied on volunteers to contribute to us in order to put together
this paper each week. If you’ve been waiting for a chance to get
involved – consider this your invitation.
On my last first day of high school, Coldplay’s “In My
Place” was the song playing on my car radio as I pulled up. The anxiety
that had filled me that morning melted into a determination to seize the
year that lie ahead.
So take this start (or restart) as an opportunity to
find your place and embrace the unknown in all of its uncomfortable,
quirky forms.
Thanks for reading,
Alexander Popichak
Alexander Popichak
