Shooting your shot: A vital part of college

Shooting your shot in college is just as important as going to class, studying and doing laundry.
According to the most reputable source, Urban Dictionary, shooting your shot can be defined as “letting go of your pride to pursue someone you are interested in.”
Sure, I’ve definitely pulled up from half court to shoot my shot and pursue people I had the hots for. Like the time I wanted this girl’s number, so I did what anyone else would do and slid into her school email account. Now we’re dating.
That’s not all shooting your shot is about though. Shooting your shot isn’t just going after your love interests; it’s about leaving your comfort zone to chase after anything you want to get out of life.
Like Wayne Gretzky said, (or did Michael Scott say it…), you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.
If you’re not willing to take action and try new things in college, you’ll never be able to succeed in the real world.
Sure, college is a time to take things seriously, but it’s also the last four years you have until adulthood. It’s okay to try new things and explore your possibilities, even if it means failing miserably.
Face it — there’s a lot of people in the world with college degrees, and there’s very little separating you from the guy across the country that wants the same job.
In a world of uniformity, what could possibly set us apart from the competition?
The answer: shooting your shot; putting yourself out there and going for it.
Trust me, I love doing the bare minimum time and time again. While sitting around doing nothing all day can be fun sometimes, if you’re not being proactive and putting yourself out there, you just aren’t doing college right.
If you want to join a club, show up to the meetings like you’ve been a member for life. If you want to land an internship with your dream company, reach out to them personally and ask if there’s openings.
After all, life begins at the end of our comfort zones, and my own experiences can attest to that.
For example, I got a little restless this past fall, so I applied to an internship in Colorado on a whim. Next thing I knew, I was 10,000 feet above sea level gasping for air on my way to work every morning in the Rocky Mountains.
There’s always a million reasons why you should try something, and very few reasons why you shouldn’t, and some of my best college experiences came from me saying, “hey, why not?” and going for it.
I run Division I cross country and track here at Bona’s. Being a collegiate athlete is an achievement in itself, but I like to think my case is a little more special.
I never ran competitively until I got to college. I played nearly every sport under the sun in high school, but cross country and track was never part of that.
One day, our team’s coach saw me and a few other guys casually running around campus and asked if we wanted a spot on the team. I knew I’d be way behind in terms of skill and competitiveness, but if someone was going to give me an opportunity like that, I wasn’t going to let it pass me.
Sometimes I shoot my shot so hard I have no idea where it’s even going, but that’s usually around the same time something great happens.
College is the perfect time to leave your comfort zone. For four years, you get to have fun with your friends and try new things with relatively low consequences. Shooting your shot is as important in college as wearing shoes in the communal showers. If you want something, go for it. Plain and simple. That’s how you get the most out of college.
I’ve thrown up some blind shots here and there, and it’s made me a better person. I’ve been denied by more internships and workplaces than I’ve been hired by— that’s just part of life. It’s a humbling experience, really.
And just because I somehow got a response to my infamous email doesn’t mean it’ll work for everybody. I actually don’t advise doing it, because if things go south you might just go down as the biggest weirdo on campus.
I do encourage shooting your shot in every other context, though. At the end of the day, it’s okay to fail, but it’s never okay to not try.