Say Yes to Everything...

My dad taught me many things growing up. The truth will set you free. Failure is the adolescence of success. Make and maintain connections. But the one that, so far, has proven the most valuable? Say yes to everything.

Slightly ahead of make and maintain connections, say yes to everything has left me with some incredible opportunities, including my first, quote, work trip, end quote.

As I write this, I am on a flight home from the Czech Republic. It is 6:00 pm in Prague, noon in New Jersey, and I am somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean in a timezone in between.

My flight today was delayed five hours, but now that we have finally taken off, I am taking the time to reflect on this unexpected experience.

So, rewind to one week ago...

Behind the Glass: Philadelphia Flyers Training Camp...

Up to this point, I have been marking up interviews, editing bonus footage for Twitter and other social platforms, and transcribing episodes. The Flyers are on a plane to Switzerland to face Lausanne before they head to Prague for their first regular season game against the Blackhawks. I am sitting in my cubicle in Secaucus, New Jersey watching a Carter Hart interview.

I had heard chatter among my department that someone was going to have to meet our on-site production team in Prague and retrieve the footage from Switzerland to ensure the show would air on time.

At some point, I couldn't even tell you when, I mentioned I wouldn't mind going, as I had been to Prague before and would know where I was going.

Two days later, I heard the words, "Erika, I found two flights, would you really want to go?"

(I would be leaving Tuesday night on a red eye to Prague, arrive Wednesday morning, stay in Prague Wednesday night, and be back on a flight to New York at 10:00 am Thursday morning, landing in New York at 1:00 pm)

So, naturally, I said yes.

I was very unsure what to expect, as I just graduated college a few months ago. I had never traveled for work, let alone crossed oceans for work purposes. I had been to Europe multiple times, but I had never traveled alone. I did know I had been to Prague before and absolutely loved it, so I found solace in that.

A girl at the airport decked out in Flyers gear struck up a conversation before getting boarding our flight. She was a season ticket holder and meeting her parents in Prague for the Blackhawks game. I answered honestly when she asked about my trip and she promptly reminded me I was like Lauren Conrad in The Hills going to New York solely for a dress. (Dress, hard drives, same thing).

I took a second to think about how crazy this might seem, but for the world I work in, it made sense.

Do you know when you sit down on the plane and anxiously await the person who will sit next to you? Well, I had never felt that until this moment and guess what? No one sat down. I had the entire row to myself and slept like a baby sprawled out across the seats. It was a good start.

In short, during my 24 hours in Prague, I sat in on a shoot with the Flyers head coach and general manager, I walked the city and sat down for lunch at an outdoor restaurant in the town square, I got rained in at the restaurant (but had a beautiful view of the astronomical clock and was surrounded by Flyers fans), I did a little shopping, I went to an amazing dinner with the production team, and I managed to take a few pictures along the way.

I met the incredibly talented people behind the footage I had been editing back home, I met fans who absolutely live and die for their team, I experienced a side of my job I had not yet seen and learned more that I thought I could in 24 hours, and I got a second opportunity to take in a beautiful city.

Oh, and I learned that there's probably a legitimate reason that the girl at the table in the corner is eating alone.

Now we're back to the present, finally on the plane, over the Atlantic Ocean, eating airplane food.

It may not sound all that exciting or seem like a big deal, but it is.

This trip marked a lot of firsts for me, as I mentioned earlier. I can now say that I have traveled alone, I have traveled for work, I have been in the field during a shoot. I could go on, but I think you get my point.

Saying yes to everything is about experiences. Those experiences help us grow both personally and professionally. The more experiences you have under your belt, the more you grow.

Say yes to everything.

You will learn, you will grow, you will meet new people, you will do things for the first time, and you will appreciate the opportunities you receive.

Lastly, now that I have reflected on the positive, I can't wait to get home and SLEEP!