The smallest things can make huge
impacts in your life. The two that immediately come to mind are
Craigslist and Will Smith. Now, you might ask yourself what those
have to do with each other, let alone with me. It doesn't really have
anything to do with West Philadelphia (though I did find myself there
years later), nor does it have to do with selling used golf clubs.
Will Smith brings the star power to
this post, so I'll discuss him first. On Christmas Day of 2007, I was
in San Francisco heading towards my family celebration. With some
hours to pass before the get together, we had two options to spend
our time: go to the zoo or see “I Am Legend”. The zoo was always
a popular choice, but the movie was showing on a large-format screen.
Contrary to the general opinion I receive about the film, I didn't
think it was that bad; however, that doesn't relate to the story.
Upon reaching my family's home, we discovered that a tiger at the zoo
had escaped its enclosure and had wounded visitors. Being that we
could have potentially been there during the aforementioned feline
encounter, I credit Will Smith with indirectly saving my life. If you
really want to get quantum physics-heavy, you could argue that our
presence at the zoological park may have altered the universe such
that the tiger didn't escape, in which case, my deciding to see the
movie caused injury to those affected at the zoo. However, my version
makes me look better.
Significantly more important a factor
on my life has been Craigslist. This writing is in no way sponsored
by the website (nor by Will Smith and his associates). For those
unfamiliar with the website (seriously?!), it is a bulletin board on
which there are postings for everything from jobs, housing, cars,
opportunities, and relationships. It is a smorgasbord for the kind of
character that says things like “Sure” and “Why not?” to new
opportunities. I'm trying to think of the impacts on my life
chronologically, but there are far too many. I was the house parent
for a foster boys' group home. I ended up there because I needed to
find a place to live and it was listed under the housing category. I
ended up really enjoying the fostering aspect of it and now, because
of it, I'm living in Mongolia for a couple years while I work with
at-risk youth. The boys' home was just one of many (>16)
residences I found through the site.
Hey there, how'd you end up touring
with a circus? Funny you should ask because I found that on
Craigslist too. I moved up to Portland without a job (having quit my
previous one in California before the move) and was open to quite a
wide window of new experiences. While in Portland, I was a model for
an editorial photoshoot, an extra in a gangsta rap video, a
production assistant for a cello-based orchestral music video that
involved puppetry and miniature sets, a photographer for the Harlem
Globetrotters, and, finally, a worker for Cirque du Soleil. All these
things I found on this site. Four years, several positions, and a
couple dozen cities later, I left the circus for the Peace Corps. Now
that I'm (currently) in SΓΌkhbaatar,
Mongolia, I'll probably be off Craigslist for a good while, but I was
sitting in language class yesterday thinking about the fact that I
wouldn't be here if I hadn't agreed to try something ridiculously new
to me...several times.
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