A Little Story
Of resilience and usefullness delusion
My parents held me tight and hugged me as we all realised what this meant. Before I could even open the envelope and assert my assumptions, I knew what was enclosed. I suddenly acknowledged that all those months of constant fights, crying in my counselor’s office, denying what some dubbed “reality”, and all of the hardships that I had to overcome, paid off. Within this envelope, there was an opportunity that transcended the parameters of monetary means. Within this envelope, was the result of my resilient and passion-driven being.
You see, I have never been fond of school. My curiosity for the world exceeds the ambitions of the status quo. I do not wish to lead and live a steady life. I find that there is some magical aspect in assuming risks and trying to beat all odds. I dislike routines and all that forces me to conform. As a young student, this way of thinking had clear ramifications in my performance. Due to the inability of the educational system to satiate my craving for challenges, I began to feel alone within this culture, and in a constant need of something new. As a result, my GPA dropped to 2.65, my SAT scores remained average at a 1510, but in exchange I had the best year of my life.
I started my first formal company and managed a team of 11 students, reached and impacted the lives of 350k+ Hispanos around the world (Heck, I even tweeted with Hugo Chavez!). I began and lead countless organizations at my school and in my community. I began to think big, to question and challenge society, and most importantly, I began to connect the dots. At the end of the day, I found myself sitting in the offices 0f Small Business Administration and Microsoft with my parents. Where, I had my first experience with businessmen, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and my first mentor. If it wasn’t for these experiences, I would not be here, writing to you. My life, would have taken a different direction. If it wasn’t for this, I would have not learned a valuable life lesson:
there are no boundaries in this life, it is our right and our duty to challenge, defy, confront, alter, and transform the world.
In part, these adventures helped me overcome myself and unleash my true potential. Sadly, my actions posed a threat as well. As college applications began, I found no where to go other than in the island where I grew up, Puerto Rico. This fundamentally infuriated me because I acknowledged that if I stayed, I would wind up mediocre. Due to the lack of an entrepreneurial mindset in the young adults of the island, I knew my skills and my passions would not fully develop. At best, they would stagnate. Facing what I knew was a pivotal moment in life, I pursued three plausible solutions for my future:
- Stay in Puerto Rico
- Don’t go to college
- Find a college where the people are compatible with my way of thinking, and do whatever it takes to get there!
______________________________ “It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be frustrating. BUT YOU HAVE TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD” —My Mother ______________________________
Having everything planned out is easy, but facing uncertainty is what truly defines you. When you know your decisions will impact the people you love, you must take responsibility and assume the weigh placed on your shoulders. Staying in Puerto Rico, was out my consideration. Ditching college, was the biggest contender; but in order to capitalize on that opportunity, I would have had to move out of the island. Therefore, I chose the less risk averse decision. I entrusted myself with the mission to find an institution, outside of the island, compatible with my view of the world, and do whatever it takes to get there. Don’t get me wrong, I would have ditched school, but it was not the time nor place to do so. As you could imagine, my parents were not happy with my delusion and my constant denial of the reality back home. Coming from a middle class family, considering an outside institution meant a huge sacrifice. It meant, the odds were not in my favor. It meant that I would have to leverage who I am and my vision of the world, in order to override my qualifications. It also meant, that there was a high probability my parents would be left economically ruined and in debt.
“Todo es pasión, un fracaso, una lección” | “All is passion, one failure, one lesson”
All of this caused countless arguments. My parents believed in me and in my potential, but they shared the same concern. Education in the United States was out of our budget. Our disputes would last for hours. Some ended on a high note, whilst most of them ended with either party shedding tears. All of this began in September and culminated by my birthday in March 21. I do not know what allowed me to keep moving forward, but I rejected to put down my hopes, my dreams, my desires, and my aspirations to choose another path. I was not willing to exchange what could be, with what I had at the present moment.
For some reason, knowing what was at stake, helped me rewire my brain in a way that allowed me to seek opportunities. I enlisted my friends, shared them my concerns, and those who cared enough stayed with me the whole time. I knew that I was short of time and that I needed two things:
- I needed to find a place where I could meet same minded individuals, and maybe obtain a great education.
- I needed to obtain a scholarship to reduce the probability of ruining financially my family.
All of this came together in an October afternoon, when a college recruiter came to my high school and all my friends, who understood my position and my aspirations, all at once told me to attend. It was in that classroom, FJ21, in all the heat and turmoil of midterms and hungry stomachs, that everything clicked!
Babson College became my solution, it became my primary target and goal. The college recruiter had to endure my passion driven being and limitless determination. After cold-calling and cold-emailing countless times the recruiter, he responded and allotted me the only time slot available. My priorities were clear at this point, I ditched school, cut 4 classes, paid my friend to do the same, he drove me home, I picked up my idea books and sketches, and went to the interview. After that, everything was set, either by luck or by other forces I do not understand. All I had to do was keep myself strong and hope for the best.
This was not easy. My acceptance letter came in the beginnings of March and my delusion became even bigger. The arguments intensified and began to deteriorate my hopes. My closest friends were bracing for the worst, I was contemplating running away from home and/or visiting the school on my own and try my luck, once again. The numbers did not lie, the institution was out of our budget. I persisted nonetheless. I had planned this crucial moment in advance and had applied for a GAP Semester knowingly and on purpose. I knew an envelope was going to arrive soon containing a scholarship, and if not, I had a “Plan B”. The GAP Semester was my strategy to buy myself time, to raise money, and to explore my world while doing so. I began by sending hundreds of letters to entrepreneurs and CEO’s and cold-calling them to raise capital. I also applied, as the youngest member to do so and get accepted, to the Founder’s Institute; and tried to build yet another company.
At the end of the day, both plans failed. But . . .
One night, after coming back from a Jesuit Retreat, an envelop was waiting for me at home. That night, when I arrived , my parents handed me down an envelope stamped with the Babson logo. The last piece of the puzzle, was in my hands. They held me tight and hugged me as we all realised what this meant. What could potentially be, what could potentially further advance my entrepreneurial passions, and what could potentially transform our lives, was inclosed inside!
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Till this day I do not regret my actions. I am still not fond of school, but now I have more opportunities to keep tinkering with my passions. I did not loose my curiosity, if not, I strengthened it. I learned various lessons along the road, and I attribute that to everyone who helped me get up every time I fell. I could not have done it alone. No one can achieve great things alone. You need the help of great people and their shared intentions. Moreover, If I learned something from this moment in my life is the following:
Schooling must not interfere with our education, you can always figure stuff out when, and if, you get lost and decide you must go back. Call it school, society, the status quo, whatever… You always have the decision to break free, or not.
Maybe it’s time to break free again?
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The world is my school, and it can be your’s as well.
— Gustavo Diaz Skoff
