I believe in fortune cookies.

I am not a superstitious person. I never have been.

Not til I decided to hold onto a fortune from a cookie.

After getting Chinese take out or meal, a fortune cookie is typically paired with the check or receipt from my visit. I get eager to crack open the cookie to reveal what the little piece of paper is going to say on the inside. Then, I disregard the fortune and carry on my way.

Something about this fortune stuck with me. Something deep inside of me told me, ‘Do not throw this away.’

I stuck the fortune in the back of my phone case and went along with life.

Time passed and I my memory was jogged about the fortune.

I carried this fortune with me for a whole year in the back of my phone case. My partner carries one in the pack of his phone case and I thought, ‘Why not do the same?’ Carrying around this piece of paper with me seems a little stupid or maybe delusional but I believe that it works.

I have started my second year of college at the same university, which is a first for me. Last school year, I was new to the game but this year, I have carved out my path to help me be where I am today.

I am tutor at the Writing Center on campus. I am run social media and the photography editor for The Seahawk. I officially became a student manager at my job. I am currently working on finishing my bachelors degree and completing parts of my masters degree because I am dually enrolled in a program through my school. I earned enough scholarship money this year to cover my tuition and rent. I am starting to develop relationships with peers and co-workers outside of academic and work environments. I am reading and starting to become more developed in my creative side of myself.

The list goes on.

‘You are naturally ambitious and will make a name for yourself.’

After getting off the phone with my mom to tell her about my promotion at my job, I thought about that fortune. I thought about how I carried my fortune with me everywhere I went. I thought about how a little piece of paper gave some type of meaning to the growth that I have endured.

I knew then,

I believe in fortune cookies.