Bad experience turns good

Sometimes God can use our mistakes to work to our advantage.

This happened in my life yesterday. I got out of my afternoon class early and decided to go down a few blocks to Barnes & Noble to hang out in the Cafe' and check out some new music before my evening class started at 7 p.m. For some reason, being in Barnes & Noble always makes me feel happy, especially when I have time to listen to some CDs, flip through the newest edition of Paste Magazine, and sip on some Iced Chai.

I left Barnes & Noble around 6:15 with plenty of time to spare, and so I decided to take the "scenic" route back to class.

I'll skip ahead and then come back to the good part.

So I got to my class around 6:40 and several of my classmates were sitting in the hall outside...So I sat down and started chatting away. At about 6:50, I said, "Is there a reason that we're sitting outside the class?" and they then informed me that we were donig a one-on-one quiz with the professor. I asked why he decided to start early....It was then that I remembered that my class actually starts at 6 p.m. not 7 p.m. Yeah...I felt like an idiot! I was still able to take the quiz, however, I had points taken off for being late...oh well.

The good part of the story is that on my way back to my class, I ran into a reporter for the newspaper that I worked for last summer. We talked for a while about our lives and such and eventually we talked about my frustrations with not having enough time to actually work this semester and gain more experience. She told me that there may be opportunity for me to work as a freelance writer for the local paper in my home-town.

Skip ahead to today...a few minutes ago, my cell phone rang and I didn't recognize the number. It was the Managing Editor at the paper, and I am now a freelance writer for Media General's Richmond Suburban Newspapers.

Not only is this a great opportunity to gain experience around my busy schedule, but I will also be paid for every story that I write.
I'm stoked.