Hello! My name is Bella Kiewel, and I am one of the Orientation Assistants with SOAR this summer. I am a sophomore this year, studying Theatre and Speech Education with a minor in sign language studies. I like to be very involved on campus with my sorority, clubs and activities, and also this job and another job in the scene shop for the theatre department. This past summer I was a SOAR Leader for the amazing group 13, and I got to have so much fun! Working in SOAR, I got to meet so many wonderful people that I continue to work with, see around campus, and get to know more about every day. This job and many other things that I have chosen to do on campus, continue to give me new opportunities all the time and even in ways that I would have never expected.

 One of the many advantages to doing a lot of things on campus is being able to say hi to someone wherever you go. Little did I know that this would come in handy one day. Last year, I assistant stage managed for my script analysis professor’s production that he was putting on as part of his graduate program. I had an absolute blast during it, and I got to know the cast as well so when I see them around campus, I love to say hi if I can.

Well, one day, I passed one of the cast members and one of her friends so I stopped for a moment to chat really quick. As we were talking, she quickly turned to her friend and introduced me as the person who assistant stage managed for that play we both did. Then she mentioned to her friend that she thought I would be good to stage manage for the play that he was putting on. The friend then formally introduced himself, and asked if I would be interested in talking more about it sometime since he is looking for one. I said yes of course! I was so excited, and so taken aback at the same time. I mean the opportunity just fell into my lap out of the blue all because I took the risk and helped my script analysis professor with his play! 

This instance is just one of many where one thing that I took the risk to be apart of, has led me to another great thing for me to do on campus. I always try to stress to people that they should take the risks because you’ll never know how great the pay off might be. There is a quote from a movie that I absolutely love and carry with me always. “A true loser is not someone who fails, it is someone who never even tries in the first place because they are so afraid of failure.”

I always strive to put myself out there despite the risk of failure because even if I do fail, I know it will never be because I didn’t try. You never know where life is going to take you so why not smile? Why not say hello? Why not take the leap and dive into the unknown? Even if the water is cold at first, you’ll warm up eventually. Your comfort zone is ever shifting to the actions that you take. 

So the next time you are sitting there wondering if you should apply for that position, say hi to that person across from you, or join that organization, think about all that it could potentially give you. Just know that there is so much more because you never know how awesome people can be, and where hard work and a good attitude can get you.

So take a breath in and a breath out, then remember how amazing living is since you don’t know where it will take you next, but you know it’ll be great. 

 -With Love, Bella