I’m a graduate of Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, New York (formerly Roberts Wesleyan College). When I was a new student in 2017, I had no clue what career I wanted, so I had no idea which major would be right for me. Can you relate to the aimlessness of not knowing what you’ve been called to do? All I knew was that I adored the ocean. Well, why don’t I study oceanography or marine biology, then? I thought. So I declared myself a Biology major and registered for some science courses.

Now flip to 2019. It was Super Bowl Sunday night. Fourteen friends and I were gathered in front of a TV in a small suite in Miner Hall. We laughed and snacked together. I didn’t care about the game; I only cared about the pizza, funny commercials, and hoping to see SpongeBob on the Halftime Show. Nothing else was on my mind.

Out of the blue, at about nine, I got a Snapchat message from someone else in the friend group: “Hey, how’s your paper coming?”

An all-too-familiar, uneasy feeling crept up on me. “What paper?” I responded.

“The paper due tonight for Theology class!” she replied. My heart thudded like it had fallen on the floor. I’d done it again–forgotten another assignment. I knew what I had to do.

I went into panic mode, and my eyes teared up as a result. I grabbed my belongings, put on my coat, and said a hurried goodnight to my friends as I explained the issue to them. Within minutes, I was trekking through the cold to get to the nearest computer as quick as possible.

I finally sat down in the quiet 24-hour computer lab. I pulled up the assignment for the night, read it over, and brainstormed the best way to B.S. my way through this paper in less than three hours. I wasn’t trying to get a good grade; I just needed to hand something in before midnight. Fortunately, it only needed to be two to three pages long. So I typed away, thinking of anything I could add to the paper to up my word count. By the end of the deadline, I was relieved to have produced about two pages of mediocre writing. Uploading and submitting it was a huge weight off my chest.

Days later, I was sitting in Theology class, for which I had written that paper. Dr. Middleton was handing out printed, graded copies of our essays. I got nervous, wondering what sort of poor score was written on my sloppy paper. But when I held it in my hands and saw it, to my shock, it was in the upper nineties! “Great work, Calla!” Middleton said. “You’re an outstanding writer!” I gaped at him in disbelief. If only he knew how much time and effort I put into that thing! I certainly wasn’t going to tell him.

This was not my first time handing in lazy writing and getting a terrific grade on it. But it was my first time not seeing it as a mere coincidence. This time I thought, What if God actually gave me a gift? And I felt a call to lean into my accidental talent.

I booked a meeting with my Biology advisor. Biology interested me, but I couldn’t deny that I excelled at writing while Biology courses felt passionless. So I asked my advisor about switching my major to English–something I never imagined myself doing. She fully supported the decision, and initiated the process of the major change (pun intended). After the change, I slogged through many tedious Literature courses. As a result, I produced lots of written work that I’m proud of to this day, and my dream of being an author was conceived.

As a result, I still write. Nowadays I often struggle to feel like what I write is good enough. If only I’d remember the Super Bowl LIII incident more often! Maybe then I’d remember that some of my best work happens when I’m not even trying.