Robert W. Clark
Question: What is the most difficult choice you had to make to fulfill your destiny?
I don't really believe in fate or destiny, because I think we have the freedom to make our own choices. I'm always amazed though when I think of how seemingly minor choices I have made at the time have impacted my future. Teaching wasn't even on my radar until about junior year of college. It was actually a fallback plan because I thought to myself "I loved high school and I'm pretty good at math." My dad's unexpected death shortly before I graduated college rocked my world and I decided to move back home to be near family. But I was not really excited to start teaching. I hated my first 2 years of it (at a different school), so I made a difficult decision to try to find a new job, knowing that I don't adapt to change well. This was when I found Veritas. I struggled to fit in my first year or two here and I still had no real passion for the job. But gradually I decided I needed to change the way I thought about teaching. Probably most importantly, I started to show my personality more and I looked for little things in each day that made me smile (on the inside of course). With more and more experience too, I felt like I was more organized and effective at teaching. As a result, Veritas became a 2nd home and the place where I feel like I'm happiest and at my best. If I hadn't made all of those choices along the way, I don't know where I'd be or what I'd be doing. If this is all because of destiny, then I'm thankful for each person along the way who helps me feel like I'm fulfilling it every day. → "If you can't change something, then change the way you think about it."
