Taking Care of Business

By Dorothy J. Hill

Taking Care of Business

I’m sure you’ve heard the song “Taking Care of Business” in commercials or maybe in the background of movies. Either way, it is something that we all have to do… take care of business. Whether that is within the realms of school, dealing with academics or just in life itself, you always have take care of business and make sure you’re on your ‘P’s and Q’s. Sometimes you have to do things that you don’t necessarily want to do, but because it is what needs to be done for that particular moment or point in life you do it.

We have all encountered a situation or ten, where we didn’t want to be involved in any way or just didn’t want to handle it the most appropriate and logical way. In many situations, you have to be more mature and responsible in how you attack it. Take me for example… Sometimes I can be a little rough around the edges. My mom says I’m a little hot-headed at times, but I like to see myself as a very passionate, revolutionary individual. Now mind you, this is not always a good thing and as you grow and learn how to operate in a decent fashion in life, you come to realize the consequences of certain actions you have put forth and the repercussions of such actions and the affect they may have on others.

I don't know about you but I've been kind of stuck in the middle between adulthood and adolescence. There are particular things to be expected of an adult as well as an adolescent. You are expected to be mature enough to understand and deal with certain aspects of life. In addition, you must carry yourself in a mature and respectable fashion and maintain such a level of dignity and integrity as an adult. I possess all of these qualities as I am developing into a responsible and respectable adult and strengthen them as my understanding of life deepens. But, (there's always a but) sometimes I falter into adolescent ways of doing things and allow that to interfere with the more reasonable and logic thought process.

Recently, I put myself in a not so good situation. Simply put, I did something I had no business doing because I know better and when you know better, you should do better. Unfortunately, this is where I allowed my behavior to falter. I and the others involved in the incident could have and should have handled the situation differently to avoid any detriment done on each other’s part. We both failed to act as we should as adults. It is something that we all can learn from. Though you may not agree with the decision another has made, that doesn’t mean you have the right to cause any interference or disruption because it was something you didn’t like. It’s not about that. Nine times out of ten someone is going to do something that you don’t like and you have to deal with it accordingly. What good does it do to get mad or throw a tantrum?

I guess you can say I had a bit of an episode of throwing a tantrum. Now it wasn’t like a three year old, but more like when you were a teenager and your mom or dad wouldn’t let you go to that party with your friends because so-and-so was going to be there and he/she was a bad influence. Well, your parents were just looking out for your best interest as they always have that at heart and that was the case for me in my recent situation. Here was a moment where I heard something that I didn’t agree with and was genuinely upset with and as a defense mechanism; I reacted in a negative manner which resulted in negative consequences. You must remember that for every action, there is certainly a reaction.

As I am growing, there are goals and expectations that I have set for myself to aspire toward. I work at being as honest and realistic about things as possible, but you have to be cautious of just how honest you are because not everyone is necessarily strong enough to deal with that truthfulness. Something that I have learned over time and am solidifying a grip on is that people will never see you as you see yourself. They may see you as more or less. I tend to think of myself in the whole spectrum as a person. From that I am many other things: a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend, a companion, a friend, a best friend, a student, a singer, a performer, a teacher, a leader, a mentor, a boss, an aspiring professional musician and entrepreneur, a psychedelic individual to name a few…

As you can see, I am many things, which requires various qualities and capabilities. The only person that will stop you from taking care of business is you. Just as a mentor told me “Don’t self-sabotage”. Do not allow yourself to be so self-centered that you neglect to acknowledge the bigger picture. You have to remove self from many things in order to effectively complete the tasks set forth. It’s not always going to be easy but it will be easier if you remain calm and objective. Life is what you make it and from now on, I am going to work toward making every moment of life the very best because I want to leave an undeniably extraordinary and incomparable impact on those I encounter.

Peace and blessings everyone…

Dorothy J. Hill is a senior from Chicago, IL. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. Dorothy is a Student Ambassador and currently serves as the Training Coordinator at Saint Xavier.