Probably one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made is to say, “I could never do that?” Why? Because that’s proven to be a surefire sign that I will one day end up doing said task.
Over fifteen years ago, I attended a popular music festival in Monterrey. I was able to attend for free because a friend’s family member won a contest. It was an outdoor festival, and it was frigid and windy. During the main act, I remember looking up and seeing the spotlight operators, all bundled up in various layers, high above the rest of us.
“Wow!” I thought to myself, “I could never do that!”
I said that for two reasons. One, because they were so darn high, and I am afraid of heights. In fact, when I look at very tall things, I often get incredibly dizzy. The second reason is that I’m “friolenta,” a Spanish word that means someone who gets cold very easily.
The following year, I ended up working at that same festival as part of their production team. Out of nowhere, I was told, “You’re going to be running the spotlight tonight.” I honestly thought it was a joke. Nope, they were serious! The next thing I know, I was climbing the flimsy ladder to the highest platform of the festival while bundled up in about five layers of clothing to try to stay warm during the windy and chilly Monterey nights. Coincidently enough, it was for the same band I had seen the year before.
I ended up running the spotlight for them for their twice-a-year, 3-day festival for the next decade or so. As a result, I got to see so many of my favorite artists and meet so many amazing people. That experience also allowed me to run the spotlight at various other concerts and festivals. Then that experience eventually led me to be a camera operator and now the video director at my church.
The “I could never do that” became “my favorite thing in the world.”
I had uttered the exact phrase about ten years before then. My aunt’s husband had to attend Immigration Court to finalize his immigration relief application and become a US permanent resident. My entire family went to show him support. I remember going through the metal detectors, with my brother setting it off because he had brought a framed picture of my uncle.
I remember entering the courtroom and sitting down on the bench. There was a case before my uncle’s, and I clearly remember seeing a Spanish interpreter there, repeating everything the judge and everyone else was saying into Spanish, AT THE SAME TIME!!! I looked at him and thought, “Wow! That’s just confusing and difficult. I could never do that!!”
Even after that, I can’t tell you how many times I saw what I now know to be a simultaneous interpreter on television and thought, “I could never do that!”
I have to laugh when I think about it.
You see, twenty-five years later, I walked into the same exact building, went through the same exact metal detectors, entered one of those same immigration courtrooms, and sat down to do the job that I once said I could never do.
I’m not joking; it was literally the same building.
The irony of my life just never ceases to crack me up.
The “I could never do that” became “my livelihood.”
Interpreter Lyfe 