How taking risks changed my life for the better
By Abi Trembly | Emerging Media Arts Major, Art Minor
Follow Abi on Instagram: @abi_trembly_creative | @abi_trembly
When I was younger, I existed in comfortable, predictable routines — even down to the songs I listened to and the food I ate. You know the kids who only ever had one kind of meal, and were so picky they wouldn’t even try a new food? Let’s just say I had the formula for making the world’s best chicken patty mastered by the age of 12. Taking risks never came easy to me.
So naturally, on the verge of graduating high school, I decided to drop everything and move 1,100 miles away from everything and everyone I knew in my hometown of York, Pennsylvania to go to good old Nebraska U. Since then, I have prided myself in taking risks much more often — and some of my best college and life experiences have come from it. In the past four years of my time at Nebraska, I’ve done my fair share of sticking my neck out. Often, it ended up changing my life for the better. So, here are three stories of times I took a risk, and it paid off — big time. Hopefully, reading them will inspire you to also take a leap and apply for that internship, try out that new club you’ve been eyeing, audition for the role you want in an upcoming show or maybe even try a new coffee order.
1. Applying for a job at University Communications I was definitely underqualified for
I am lucky enough that I am in my third semester working as an intern for the video team with the University Communications office. But when I applied, I was definitely underqualified. I was a junior at the time — about halfway through my fall semester — when our building manager at the Johnny Carson Center, Megan McMasters, sent out the job call.
I remember my interview super clearly — my now boss, Aaron, asked me a bunch of questions about my experience working with cameras, shooting non-fiction content and editing short-form videos. While I didn’t have all the experience he was looking for, I tried to keep making a point that I wanted to learn. I saw the list of expectations for the position and realized a good half of them were things I had no idea how to do, but the interpersonal skills he was looking for, I did have. Now, I not only have learned those skills I didn’t know before — I also get to work on amazing projects like the new national TV spot for the university, “Home Again,” President Gold’s holiday video and shoot footage of students from the sidelines at Huskers games.
When it comes to applying for jobs, imposter syndrome is a real struggle. But this experience showed me that being curious, present and excited to do the work can work wonders in getting your foot in the door.
2. Committing to the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts
When I applied for my spot at the Carson Center, I actually had no idea what it was. Like I mentioned before, I was originally from Pennsylvania, and the program was still very new at the time, so I hadn’t heard about it. I was lucky enough that the person assisting me through my application process stopped me before I declined out of a lack of information, and insisted that I get on the phone with Megan Elliott, the endowed director of the Carson Center. She spoke with me for an hour and a half about the program and all the possibilities I had to explore there.
I went into the program having no idea what I wanted to do — it was perfect. Since then, I have had the chance to explore visual effects, game engines, motion graphics, 3D modeling and so much more. I have been able to help as an undergraduate teaching assistant for freshman classes, work on capstone projects and meet industry professionals because of the resources the program gave me access to.
Taking the risk and committing to the program when I didn’t know much about it is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. It helped me find what I am so incredibly passionate about doing, made me a better maker and communicator, and prepared me for my time after graduation more than I could have hoped for.
3. Studying abroad in Florence, Italy during the January term
I was introduced to the idea of studying abroad in Florence by my good friend, Liam, nearly a year before I left, but it sorta felt like a pipe dream. The only time I’d gone abroad was for a short high school trip to the Bahamas, where every minute was planned out by my teachers. This was a completely different experience — going on my own across the ocean for two and a half weeks; but hey, what better way is there to spend winter break during your senior year?
I convinced my parents to let me go in October about 17 days before the down payment was due. Now, I would not recommend waiting this late to start the process. My poor Global Experiences advisor … I need to send her a thank you note. I ended up finalizing everything and took a flight bright and early on New Year’s Day, and landed in Florence 18.5 hours later. It was easily the best experience of my life. I studied photography for two weeks, developed film, visited Vatican City, saw the David, and ate a lot of good food. I also did a social media detox for the trip and came back refreshed and ready to tackle my last semester of college.
The biggest thing this trip taught me was trusting in myself — I got my paperwork, passport, medical information, applications and travel arranged with honestly, minimal help from outside sources. I had to rely on my own smarts to get me around the cities I was visiting, communicating with the locals and managing my time. I came back feeling like I could genuinely do anything, and with a really cool journal to document the whole thing.
Okay, if you’ve gotten this far — I applaud you. I also hope that you can see how taking a leap has genuinely been the determining factor in my life. Trust your gut, believe in your abilities, and take risks — this is the advice I bestow upon you. You only have one life, and you only have one today — make the most of it!
-Abi
