The Best Career Advice I Ever Had

The best career advice I ever received was delivered to me by my mother. I didn’t realize that these three simple words, “never give up” would resonate with me my entire life.

The first time she gave this advice was when I was an 8 year old child. I was a member of the Golden Bears cheers team. I had spent more than half my short life dedicated to this sport. I absolutely loved cheering and all that it involved like going to games, performing our half time show, and having a complimentary ice cold RC cola at the snack stand afterwards. In a nutshell, cheering was my life. However, all my cheer dreams were soon smashed to bits that fall when a new cheer coach was signed to the team. This was many years ago and I cannot remember exactly why the new coach made my life miserable, but she did. She was a certified “meanie.” Gone were the whimsical days of having someone’s older sister teach us simple basic routines while we chewed on Hubba Bubba. This new coach was serious and she wasn’t there for fun, she was there to coach. I was miserable and I was ready to quit the team. So, I did what any 8 year old would do, I informed my mother that my cheering days were over. I was hanging up my pom poms and moving on.

My mother stayed unusually calm. “Don’t give up,” she said, “if you quit the team, you are only going to hurt yourself.” I imagined my cheer free life. No more games, no more hanging out with my squad, and maybe most importantly, no more free RC Colas. I went back to practice and continued to cheer. I did my cheers and jumped- drank my RC- and I had a great year, despite the “meanie” that had come into my life.

So later, when I took those unbelievably difficult courses in college, my first day on the job as a veterinarian at a Spay and Neuter facility in Eastern Tennessee, and any time that the going gets tough. When I meet a difficult situation, I never give up!

Thank you Mom :-)