Brett LaMarca (The Beacon)
By Brett LaMarca, Guest Commentary
People sometimes use the expression "it's just the luck of the draw" or "you just gotta take a gamble." For me, I was literally taking the gamble of a lifetime in coming here about four years ago as a freshman. The first week of school was not only my first trip to the school, it was also my very first trip to Portland. Coming from Orlando, Fla., I immediately felt odd and out of place in my new surroundings. Not only did I have the normal adjustments of college life, I had to adjust to the cultural differences between west coast and east coast.
At first, I was still excited about getting to start fresh and meet all kinds of new people. I was meeting dozens of new people each day and starting to make some friends. This trend pretty much continued until about fall break. It was at this point I started to become homesick and really question my decision to come all the way out here. Even the constant dark and cloudy weather was starting to get to me and make me wish I never left home. I was seriously thinking that I had made the wrong choice and gambled away too much in coming here.
At this point, I started to do a lot of self-reflection on where my life was going and what I wanted out of this whole experience we call college. It was then I realized that if I could make it out here all on my own, then I could take on just about anything else life wants to throw at me. It was then that I decided to give the Portland Gamble another shot.
Four years later, I now stand ready to graduate with a degree in Entrepreneurial and Innovation Management and an active duty commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. I have made lots of new friends that I never would've met back home. I've even been fortunate enough to have a few close relationships over these past few years. In the end I would have to say that my Portland Gamble has paid off greater that I could have ever imagined.
Brett LaMarca is a senior entrepreneurship and innovation major. He can be reached at lamarca13@up.edu.
