When Opportunity Comes Knocking

Have you ever had one of those days where you experienced things that were out of the ordinary? Today was one of those days for me. Let me fill you in. Recently I have been working as an assistant to a local photographer and he wanted to know if I would be able to assist him on Monday the 16th. The problem is that I have photography class on Mondays so I decided to ask my teacher what we would be doing that day. When I told him about the opportunity I had before me I heard him say something I've never heard a teacher say, "Dude you should skip class and go help him!" I was actually surprised when he said this because we actually are going to have an in class shooting assignment that day and he fully was encouraging me to skip it. He said that I should take advantage of this opportunity because chances are that I would gain more from working with this photographer than if I stuck around for class.

I had another fun experience today. I got to be a model. Now normally I'm in the role of the photographer so I don't get to have my picture taken very often nor do I get to dress up and actually model for someone. But this was more than just modeling, this was role playing. I was an actor playing the role of Aladdin in a modern day setting. I had been really excited to pose for this part but at the same time I was concerned that the girl playing Jasmine was going to be timid or feel awkward with the poses we were no doubt going to be in. Most of you know me well enough to know that I am not timid and I rarely feel awkward in situations that most people would feel awkward in. And so the photo-shoot began and we were situated into positions where we had to look lovingly into each others eyes and the best part was that she turned out to be just as confident as I was! Woo! It was also really fun to help the photographer come up with new ideas for poses that we could be in.

So I guess the theme of this post is opportunity. Opportunity comes in many shapes and forms and I want to encourage you to take advantage of it. Who knows, you could end up getting a job as an assistant in an otherwise jobless market or have a blast modeling as a modern day Disney character or you may even end up in a dance studio doing the night club 2 step with a 40 year old woman dressed as a pirate (yes, that did happen).

That's my perspective

Ben Peters