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By Austin Dillon
I
remember my eighth grade Sunday school teacher telling our class, “There are no coincidences.” He taught us that even
what seem like random occurrences can be evidence of divine guidance working in
our lives. After reflecting upon where I am and how I got here, I would have to
be oblivious not to notice all the small “coincidences” that created the
skills, the opportunities, and the dreams it took to propel me to where I am.
But, as my teacher said, these instances are not coincidences at all; rather,
they are the fingerprints of God left upon the unfinished project that is my
life’s purpose.
Before
high school, I was confident that I wanted to become a research oncologist
(well, as confident as a middle school student could be). I had dreamt the same
dream since I was about four years old. I was certain that I was meant to
impact the world of medicine.
Flash
forward six years and here I sit, writing a blog for the McConnell Scholars
Program at the University of Louisville. I study economics and political
science, and I hope to one day become an attorney. Clearly, my eighth-grade resolve
could not withstand even a bit of divine intervention.
It
is difficult for me to point to the exact moment when my goals took such a
dramatic turn, but I think two particular instances are considerably important.
The first instance actually took place during my eighth grade year. My favorite
teacher had been moved to the social studies department that year, and she had
the class take a political ideology quiz. With all my thirteen-year-old wisdom,
I answered each question with characteristic over-zealousness. To make matters
worse, that test told me that my beliefs aligned with the party opposite the
party to which most my family belonged. So, naturally, I did what any
reasonable teenager would do: I took the (rather unreliable) test results as
fact and I started picking political fights with my parents. Thankfully, our
dinner-table discourse never severed our family’s love for each other; however,
our conversations did begin to wedge a new interest between myself and my dream
to become a doctor.
Soon
after, I left my awkward middle school years behind and began my equally
awkward freshman year of high school. It was during this year that I arrived at
the second goal-altering juncture. When it was time to sign up for clubs, I
chose to sign up for what seemed like every club in the school. One of these
was my school’s Kentucky Youth Assembly (KYA) delegation, and after just a few weeks of working on model
legislation (with, I must add, one of the most outstanding teachers I have ever
met) I became completely enamored with politics and law. I loved the process of
combing through pages of Kentucky statutes to research for my bill. That
enthusiasm was further fueled by the unmatched energy my teacher brought to
every meeting. That freshman KYA conference began what would later come to
define my high school years. I owe so much of who I am now to the chain of “coincidences” which were a result of my
years involved with KYA (one of which, my current relationship, is so filled
with divine guidance that it merits a much lengthier discussion in the sequel
post to this blog). What began as a mindless signature on the roster of a club
I knew almost nothing about turned into a force that solidified my interests
and that propelled me to apply for similar programs and scholarships, including
the scholarship program for which I am writing this blog post.
I
know that there is much more to my story than I could possibly include, but I
think these two experiences are particularly covered with the fingerprints of
God. It never ceases to amaze me how He placed such great people and
experiences in my path, and how those people and experiences shaped the way I
view my role in the world. My life is still a work in progress, but it is more
than comforting to know that the Author of the world is still helping me write
my story, a story full of intention--not coincidences.
Austin Dillon, of Belfry, Ky., is a member of the McConnell Scholar Class of 2022. He studies political science and economics at the University of Louisville.