The Answer is Within, Kolby Castillo's Story

By: Kolby Castillo

Many answers we seek are already within us. It is that many times the outside voices of others are louder than the one inside. We know what it is that we truly want or want to do but we need others to help push us in that direction at times. 

From my senior year of high school, my life plan was to be a physical therapist. The two frequent questions everyone asks you when you are soon to graduate high school: “Where are you going to college?” and “What are you majoring in?”

Telling people I wanted to be a physical therapist would make everyone look at me with awe. They would say wow that is a great choice, you’ll make a lot of money. Family members would applaud at the fact that I wanted to be a physical therapist. Being well paid, possibly being called doctor, and a reputable occupation. It sounds amazing does it not? Inside though, every time physical therapist would leave my mouth it rolled unnaturally off my tongue. I was an actor who said the same line so many times it became normal. I started to believe that I wanted to be a physical therapist. 
Going into my freshman year of college, the plan was still to be a physical therapist. I remember walking into my advisor’s office and telling him the plan. My advisor’s name was Eddie, his office was decorated with the University of Alabama Crimson Tide football memorabilia. It was natural that we talked a lot about sports and his own experiences working in sports. As I mentioned earlier, it takes other people at times to push us in the right direction. He recognized my passion for sports and curiosity of the sports industry. Somehow he convinced me to take an intro to sport management class. It was from that moment I knew what I always knew, physical therapy was not for me. From that moment on, working in sports has been my path. 

My parents or family is not to blame. They love me and care about me. They wanted me to have stability in my life. Outside of the people close to the sports industry, not many are aware that a career in sports is even a thing. As short as this article is, the journey I went through within was a long one. My path is constantly changing but my purpose stays the same.
Senior year of college, I did everything leading up to the year to ensure my chances of getting my next opportunity. I did internships, jobs, volunteer work, and networking. Senior year is filled with trying to finish up the final classes and focusing on applying for the next opportunity. There is little time to reflect or even thing what you want. The question now asked by everyone is: “What are you going to do next?” 

Before the graduation ceremony I received full-time job offers, internship offers, and acceptance into graduate schools.I accepted a full-time job working as the Assistant Event Management and Intramural Coordinator with the University of Minnesota - Crookston Athletics. My first year of full-time work has not been normal at all. With the pandemic, it has been far from normal. Yet, the time provided me the ability to reflect. My journey from when I was born to today, has led to the birth of Sports As a Job. That is a story for another time. 

As individuals we rarely have time to truly reflect and think. We are so busy trying to fulfill the expectations of society and others. Is what you are doing truly what you want to do? Don’t listen to the voices on the outside. What is it you truly want to do and how will you get there?