The Pin That Makes “Eventually” Today

My name is Leah Cirrincione, and I am a two-time Carson Scholar as well as a current intern with the Carson Scholars Fund. I am so excited to share that the Carson Scholars Fund is kicking off a new campaign running from August 19 to September 18: Pin It Forward.

For these 30 days you can sponsor a pin and add a short message that will go to the scholar who receives it. As a two-time Carson Scholar, I can say that when you receive your medal and pin, it feels like all your hard work finally paid off. It feels like proof that all your sacrifices were worth it.

Before becoming a Carson Scholar and receiving my pin, I never had that proof. I would skip going to the movies with my friends to study, I would stay up late after soccer practice to complete my homework and then wake up the next day and do it all over again, I would go to my shifts at the local restaurant I worked at throughout high school when I really wanted to go shopping, I would write and rewrite drafts of my book when I wanted to be watching TV.

I put in the hard work. I made sacrifices. But I often wondered if the sacrifices and hard work were worth it. These questions arose because I did not yet have proof. I had never truly been recognized before becoming a Carson Scholar. I knew my hard work would pay off eventually, but I always wondered in the back of my mind when “eventually” would come. It felt like no matter how hard I worked or what I did, none of it would ever be enough. It felt like “eventually” might never come.

This is the truth for many of us before we become Carson Scholars. In fact, after a certain point, it almost feels like your good grades, volunteering and hard work are just expected, not extraordinary.

But the day that I, along with all the other Carson Scholars, got our pins is the day that “eventually” became today. It is the day that you finally have proof. Proof that our hard work paid off. Proof that all the sacrifices made, all the fun you might have missed, was worth it.

It makes you look back on your journey differently. It helps you realize that every moment you sacrificed was a moment that led you, bit by bit, to today. It changes your perspective, both on your past and your future. It helps you realize that hard work does not go unnoticed. It is not just expected and brushed to the side but is instead recognized and celebrated.

But most importantly it propels scholars into the future. Into a future where they will continue to work hard and make sacrifices because they now have proof that “eventually” will come.

I urge you to consider sponsoring a pin, as it is proof to the scholar that receives it that their hard work means something and that their “eventually” has arrived.