Make Tomorrow Better.

Ethan Jarrell
Jul 21, 2017 · 2 min read

Many of us found out today that The Iron Yard, the school we have grown to love will be closing it’s doors in November. This news came suddenly to most of us. As a student, I am disheartened, saddened and somewhat apprehensive about the uncertainty that means for the future, and the future of others in our cohort. I can only imagine the compounded uncertainty that many of those who work on the instructional team and staff must feel at this time as well. At this time, as we all deal with poignant and powerful emotions, it’s easy to second guess the decisions we have made up until this point. Had we known what would have happened, would we have made other choices?

I share this, not because I want any consolation, but because I don’t think my personal experience is particularly unique. Uncertainty and fear for the future is something each of us has probably faced, and will likely face again. Maybe something in my brief post today can bring a small bit of comfort or motivation to someone going through a similarly life changing experience.

As the days’s events unfolded, I recalled an exchange I had once seen with Condoleezza Rice and Piers Morgan. Rice served as the Secretary of State in the Bush Administration from 2005 to 2009. During her tenure, she faced criticism over decisions the administration made about the Iraq war. In a 2011 interview, Piers Morgan asked Condoleezza Rice about a particular decision, which hadn’t turned out well. His question was basically, “knowing what you know now, would you have made the same decision?”

Her response:

“What you know today can affect what you do tomorrow, but not what you did yesterday.”

I’ve thought about that interview a lot, in light of today’s events. The point is, right now there is no point in regretting where I am or how I got here. We can’t change the past.

But, what we know today can affect what we do tomorrow.

My goal, and my hope for anyone reading is that, despite where we were yesterday, that we can all try and make tomorrow a little better.

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Ethan Jarrell

Written by

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanjarrell/

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