It was getting closer and closer. Graduating from college represented a critical transition from the structure of formal education to the quote on quote real world. During this time I was bombarded with the question that a typical college graduate to be receives right before graduating, “so what are you going to do”? With student loans to be paid, and the economy in a recession, my instinctive response was to reply, “get what ever job I can get”. Yet my true response was, “do what I love to do”.

During my last 2 ½ years of college I was given the opportunity to work as an event coordinator in my school’s student government organization. Planning events became an outlet that allowed me to express my creative side, as well as bringing people together for a common cause. I have a quote that I came up with that explains my perspective towards this profession,” I am not much of a painter, therefore I plan events”.

From cultural fairs to student trips, I took abstract ideas that originated in my mind and turned them into events that would have a positive effect on people’s lives. The sense of community that came from planning events, brought people together to enjoy an experience that I created, and I wanted to continue to do this long after I left college. So after completing 4 years of collegiate education I got a job as a carny!

Because employment was scarce, I approached the job market with a trajectory goal perspective. Meaning I would be happy with any job so long as it fell within the event planning umbrella. I called vendors that I used to hire while working at student government to see if they needed help, and long behold I was hired by a small entertainment management company as a quote on quote production coordinator. Although I had a fancy title, my true responsibility felt more like a carny, which was to work a video booth system called Booping Heads.

From bat mitzvahs to city festivals, I was in charge of sitting people down in front of the camera and recording them while they made total fools of themselves on the screen. My personal self talk soon became a haunting reminder that sounded a little bit like this, “4 years of college for this”. But I had to be pragmatic; at least I was working within the event industry. I had a dream that I couldn’t compromise regardless of the circumstance, and took a life or death approach towards my goal.

The most common scene that I saw coming out of college, was that of students who traded in their dreams for a “safe” pay day. I cringed when friends of mine took on career paths that they were not interested in; all for a job that was supposedly secure and in demand. It was as if lives were being taken for the sake of a false sense of security. I believe that we must follow our dreams at all cost, it is our duty and responsibility to do so in return for the gift of life bestowed upon us.

After my short tenure as a weekend carny, I met my friend and mentor JB Glossinger who during a casual conversation brought up the idea of coordinating events for something called MorningCoach.com. Let’s just say…I hope you can make it out to our upcoming Intelligent Life Design Event.

Never compromise your dreams…

Luis Rosario is the Director of Communications / Event Relations for MorningCoach.com, with an educational background in Sociology and Inter-cultural Communications. His mission is to change the world for the better one event at a time!