“Is That What You Want to Do?”

Reader,

In last Wednesday’s email I mentioned this quote from Emily P. Freeman,

I asked you to think of someone who changed your world because they listened to you. I said I would tell you today about a person who changed mine because they listened to me.

And what an unlikely person this was: my high school guidance counselor.

One day at the beginning of my senior year, Mrs. Roller, someone I had never talked to before, called me into her office and asked me what my plans were once I graduated.

I told her I was planning to live at home and commute to a college in town.

“Is that what you want to do, go to college as a commuter student?

“Well, not really. I’d like to leave home and go away to a college where I could live in a dorm. But I don’t have enough money to do that.”

“What about applying for financial aid so you could?”

I told her I tried, but my father refused to fill out the required forms parents are supposed to submit. He wondered why I would want to go to college in the first place, as he thought it would be a waste of money. He didn’t think I was smart enough to go.

“Your grades and test scores indicate you’re smart enough,” she said.

“Yeah, I’m going to go to college anyway, but here in town because that’s all I can afford.”

“How are you going to pay for college?”

“Since tenth grade, I’ve been working at a restaurant, putting in long hours, except during basketball season, when I only work Saturdays and Sundays. I’ve been saving the money for college. I think I’ll have enough to go to school here in town.”

After a long pause, Mrs. Roller asked me another really important question, “What if I could get financial aid for you without your parents having to fill out the parents’ confidential statement? Would you want to go away to college then?”

“Can you really do that? Really? If you could, sure. I’d love to go away to school.” I then mentioned the state university 250 miles from home that I’d like to attend.

“I will try to get you some aid, but there are no guarantees. There is some financial assistance for students in your situation, so I will make some phone calls and see what I can do. I can’t promise you anything. But I’ll get back to you.”

“Wow. Thank you.”

___________________

A week later Mrs. Roller called me into her office again. With a big smile on her face, she told me I would be getting financial help from the university I chose, once I applied and was accepted.

Her is-that-what-you-want-to-do question changed the direction of my life. She could have accepted my initial answer at face value (stay at home- commute to college), but she listened to more than my words. She read between the lines.

Often times it only takes one little question to change a person’s life.

I can’t imagine how drastically different my life would have turned out if I had followed through with my original plan to live at home while going to college.

I mentioned Mrs. Roller briefly in two podcast episodes. Both of them are about speaking up for people when they can’t speak up for themselves.

Click on these links to listen in:

​Episode 044 – Thankful for the People Who Invested in You​

​
​Episode 194 – Martin Luther King – The Silence of Our Friends​

Until next week, I wish you all the joy that you can wish.*

John Certalic

You Were Made for This is the podcast sponsored by Caring for Others, a missionary care ministry.

* The Merchant of Venice, Act III, scene 2