Wow, I am so excited to be writing this edition of my column sporting my Nike Killshot 2 Leather shoes, comfortably lounging in my Nike Sportswear Tech Fleece sweatpants and bundled in my Nike Club Men’s Fleece Pullover Hoodie. What a day to be completely covered in Nike merchandise, sitting in the Nike library, writing this column on my NikeBook Pro using Nike Docs. I just love using Nike (not sponsored)!
What a way to start this column, you readers may be asking yourselves. And yes, I agree, it is a strange way to start this column. But we are in strange times, and the only way to survive strange times is to be strange yourself. I like to think of it like Schrödinger’s cat — we are both strange and not strange at the same time (I’m going crazy).
I will admit it: I used to be a Nike kid. You know exactly the type I’m talking about. I was one of many kids (not the only one, I want that to be clarified) who would show up to school in long, elite Nike socks pulled up to my knees, the blinding neon shirts and shorts and sometimes — on special occasions — I would break out compression tights under my shorts. Myself, along with all the other kids who did this (remember, I wasn’t the only one) marched around the school like we were sponsored athletes.
This phase was an interesting transition period in my fashion evolution. Before my Nike obsession, my mom would pick my outfits for me, dressing me like I was heading to Sunday Mass every morning: turtlenecks, slacks and the occasional sweater vest. Then, one day, I turned on those turtlenecks and my mother, ultimately discovering “drip” (or at least what I — and many other kids my age — thought was drip back then).
In retrospect, as I stroll around Tufts in my casually formal style (Nike-free — unless, of course, they want to sponsor me), I still don’t quite understand what drew all of us to Nike back then. Maybe it was the idealized swoosh, the unspoken belief that wearing Nike would make you run faster or just sheer peer pressure. Whatever it was, it had a grip on us.
Don’t get me wrong — I still like Nike. While I may have retired the elite socks, neon shorts and compression tights combo, I still appreciate the brand. However, at this stage in my life, I find myself resonating more with their slogan, “Just Do It,” rather than their neon green dri-fit shirts. As I’ve matured (from Hodgdon Hall to Latin Way), that phrase has taken a deeper meaning.
College is full of opportunities. There is no doubt about that. They can range from applying to a club on campus to speaking up in class. There are opportunities everywhere. However, so many of them slip by, often for reasons that feel insignificant in hindsight. I’ve caught myself turning down opportunities just because I was too tired or too lazy, and looking back, I can’t help but wonder how much I’ve missed out on because of it.
That’s when I was brought back to my history with Nike — not my history with their clothing, but rather my history with their imperative slogan. We often lose sight of our place in the world and how fortunate we are to even have opportunities to seize.
Somewhere out there, someone is lying on their deathbed wishing they would have taken that chance that one time. The opportunities we often take for granted and overlook so casually might be the start of something new — something that could change the course of our lives. Each opportunity is a chance to begin again, to take a step in a direction we’ve never gone before. We never know which moment will spark our next big chapter.
So, perhaps we should listen to Nike — maybe we should “Just Do It.” We should do it tired, do it scared, do it alone, do it sad, do it embarrassed, do it unsure, do it unmotivated — just do it. No matter what we feel, we have to capitalize on the opportunities we are given because the chance to do it is a privilege in itself.
At the end of the day, we rarely regret the things we tried — we regret the chances we let slip away. In college, and life in general, we will always find ourselves in moments of hesitation, fear, doubt or even just plain laziness. But if we wait until we feel completely ready, we may never take that leap.
So, whether it’s raising your hand in class, applying for that position or stepping into an unfamiliar space, remember that action is what moves us forward. We owe it ourselves to take the changes we are given, to make the most of the opportunities that so many wished they had.
Life won’t wait. Sometimes, the only way forward is to Just Do It.
Getting sponsored by Nike,
Ben Rachel
