The Advice I Didn’t Understand Until Years Later

There are moments in life that don’t seem particularly significant when they’re happening. Then you look back 10, 20, or 30 years later and realize:

That conversation changed everything. During my junior year of college, I was struggling with some of my science courses and seriously considering leaving my biology major. I wasn’t failing to understand the material. I was struggling to produce the grades I expected from myself—and I started interpreting that struggle as evidence that maybe I didn’t belong.

Then I had a conversation with my advisor, Dr. Fred Punzo. He didn’t promise me that staying in biology would make me a doctor. He didn’t tell me exactly what career I would have. Instead, he helped me look at my situation from 30,000 feet. He recognized that there weren’t many Black and Latino students completing STEM degrees and believed that staying the course could create opportunities for me that I couldn’t see yet.

Decades later, I can trace pieces of my journey—from government work and graduate school to the military, law school, private practice, entrepreneurship, and becoming a judge—back to completing that biology degree. And when I graduated, of the Black men who had started in that STEM environment with me, I was the only one who finished as a STEM major. This episode isn’t simply about staying in a difficult major. It’s about understanding the importance of having people in your life who can see possibilities that you can’t see yet.

Sometimes you don’t need someone to give you a roadmap. You need someone with enough experience to show you that the road you’re standing on goes farther than you think.

CALL TO ACTION Think about the people who gave you advice that changed the trajectory of your life. Did you recognize its importance immediately—or did it take years before you understood what they were trying to tell you?

Share this episode with someone who’s questioning their abilities or wondering whether their current struggle means they’re on the wrong path. And remember: struggling with something doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t belong there. Sometimes you just haven’t reached the part of the journey where you understand why staying mattered.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.