Growing up I wanted to be a veterinarian.
I was the only 10-year old I know of, with a file box containing a file folder of facts and photos on every single breed of dog and all their characteristics. I would organize and reorganize those files, and study each of them until I had them all memorized.
I was undeniably cool, clearly.
I spent hours drawing up detailed floor plans for my future vet clinic, and sketched out what the pens and yards would look like for the animals. I worked out the plans over and over again and I held tight to that dream right up until the end of high school.
Then, in protest to what I felt were unfair teaching methods, I refused to write the chemistry final exam in my grade 12 year and dropped the class. It was an incredibly stupid move, that accomplished nothing, and meant I lost my 80% average in that class, didn’t get the credit, and said goodbye to the possibility of entrance to any science based programs, in any university.
Despite my poor decision making skills, I still wasn’t ready to give up on my dream of working with animals, and applied for community college, and Animal Health Technician program, instead. I had determined that the move would still allow me to work with animals, and I could do it with the prerequisites I had.
Luckily for me, that program was full and they put me on a very long wait list. Honestly, I would have been a terrible vet tech, and an even worse veterinarian. I’m not entirely comfortable with blood and gore, and I am afraid of strange dogs. Seriously, what was I thinking?
Things weren’t looking good for getting into college, and I envisioned all of my friends heading off in the fall, and moving on with their lives, while I was going nowhere, still stuck at home and working somewhere that required a hair net. I refused to be left behind, so I switched to the business administration course, primarily because it was the only one that had space.
I am thankful for that impossibly long wait list and my fear of hair nets, every single day.
That series of events put me on the path to where I am today, as a founder of several companies, running a million-dollar business, and focused on helping other women entrepreneurs. For that divine redirection, I am forever grateful.
I realize NOW that I never wanted to be a vet. I wanted to build a veterinary business. That was my true calling, that’s what I was playing at with my planning and sketching, before I even knew it about myself.
At the time, each failure, each closed door, felt like a knife through the heart of my dream. But in the infinite wisdom of the universe, or whatever power you believe in, I was simply being redirected, or steered in the right direction.
Sometimes things happen that are beyond our control, maybe something is happening to you right now that feels like a setback.
But it’s not. It’s setting you up for the right path, for the real dream, for the next amazing thing. So, hang in there, keep your chin up, and be ready for your new and improved path.
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
EE Cummings