Dear Reader,
My friend and I were texting back and forth today freaking out over Hamilton because our mutual friend/co-worker just sent us a link to watch the entire musical.
She said, “I am indebted to Elise for eternity!”
And I responded, “Honestly, who knew working at King would make my life so much better??”
It might seem small to use Hamilton as an example (although it’s really not because I honestly think this musical has changed me), but I think about this kind of thing all the time.
Think about all the decisions you’ve made in your life that have led you to this exact moment right now.
It may seem petty because I’m currently sitting in my dorm room with the lights off listening to Miley, but do you ever just think about everything you have, and everything you did that indadvertedly brought you here?
I think about this a lot when I think about the people I have in my life. I mean, just look at everyone I’ve met at college–they all had to decide on Miami. They might have gotten rejected from different schools or maybe weren’t offered as much money other places or maybe this has been their dream school for years. There are so many factors that brought them to this school, but even that didn’t guarantee in us meeting.
For Ciara and Becca, they had to decide to rush. They went through the same two-week process that ultimately led them to choose Phi Mu. And then it just so happened that our heart sisters were friends and brought us to the same pre-game in which we all bonded over the thought of ghost-hunting at Peabody. From that initial click they’ve become the two closest sisters I have.
Ashley and I probably never would’ve met if she hadn’t roomed with Alex first semester, and if Alex hadn’t reached out on Facebook, trying to meet new people. I mean, sure, she lived in the same dorm as Jaden and I, but we really didn’t talk to a lot of people in that dorm. If it weren’t for Alex, Ashley could’ve been just another face I passed on campus that I recognized, but couldn’t quite place from where.
And speaking of Jaden–if she hadn’t moved to Ohio–if she hadn’t moved into our neighborhood and rode our bus–and joined orchestra–and decided on violin the same time Lekha was switching from the bass–well, we might not have ever talked, either. And if the sale on her old house had gone through (which it was so close to doing), we surely would have lost touch and never grown as close as we are now.
There are so many people like that–Andrew who happened to be in my MAC class freshman year and, because of our final project, we decided to follow each other on Twitter and turned out to be friends that way (technology is great, people). Victoria, a senior in Phi Mu who I never would have met if I hadn’t been placed in the back room because I missed some of a workshop because I went and saw Ed Sheeran in Cleveland because my sister and mom bought the ticket as a surprise (if I had known about it, I would’ve told them to choose another concert so I didn’t have to miss Twenty One Pilots).
And even Sarah was a mistake. I joke about this a lot because my mom let it slip a few years back that she couldn’t remember to take her birth control with two kids under the age of 3 running around and–poof–Sarah was made. But I feel like it’s okay that I can make these jokes because Sarah knows how blessed I feel that she is in my life–how she is honestly the greatest gift I have that I never have (and never) will truly deserve.
It’s hard when people ask if you believe in fate, because you like to believe that you’re capable of being an agent of change. But honestly, with stuff like this, I think it’s hard not to believe.
All of these people, plus so many more have come into my life for a reason, I think. And there are so many choices that are involved, it’s hard to think otherwise. My life would be completely different if I had chosen to go to another college. Or if my parents had decided to live in another city. Or if my mom didn’t answer the phone that day (I’ll tell you guys the story about how my parents met later).
So yeah, I think I do believe in fate or destiny. I don’t think it’s an excuse to not work hard or that it’s the idea that things will just fall in your lap. I just think there are some parts of your life that are meant to be, like having a sister or meeting your best friend, that can’t possibly be explained otherwise.
Anyway, sorry for the long rant. It’s just sometimes at night I think about how glad I am that I chose Miami and that I decided to work at King when I was a freshman and that I added my journalism major just late enough to only have options of force-adding classes like that MAC one.
And how damn fortunate I am that my mom couldn’t remember her birth control.
Thank God Sean and I were little hellions.
Sincerely,
Sammy
SINCERELY, SAMMY 
❤