Growing up, it would have been easy for Caitlin Bassett 鈥15 to let life鈥檚 circumstances get her down and hold her back. After all, she had her fair share of struggles when she was younger. In fact, she almost didn鈥檛 graduate from high school.
鈥淎n earlier version of me would have blamed that on my parents鈥 divorce or a smattering of teenage hardships,鈥 said Bassett, who served as mistress of ceremonies at 黑料情报站's stateside in November and shared her personal story in kicking off the celebration in Adelphi, Md. 鈥淏ut the truth is I almost failed because I felt like my life was someone else鈥檚 responsibility.鈥
One day, though, Bassett realized that she wasn鈥檛 just entitled to things in life. She had to take ownership of her actions and demand better for herself.
鈥淭his little voice in the back of my head said you鈥檙e not supposed to be just some girl who didn鈥檛 graduate high school. Reach higher,鈥 Bassett recalls.
With this new-found attitude, Bassett found motivation close to home.
鈥淎 man from my family had served in every American war, and [this] was something I was always proud of鈥攁nd I needed something to be proud of in that moment,鈥 Bassett says. 鈥淪o, I decided to be the first female in my family line to serve.鈥
Determined, she worked her way through basic training, meeting people from all walks of life along the way. She quickly learned that the things she had complained about early in life really weren鈥檛 that bad.
鈥淭urns out, the world didn鈥檛 owe me a thing,鈥 she notes. 鈥淢y future rested with me鈥攁nd the only way up was through.鈥
Education had taken a back seat for Bassett, and she had no shortage of real excuses for that. Although she had managed to graduate from high school, her military service made it difficult for her to pursue a college degree.
She then spent seven years of service as an intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, with two of her three deployments being in Afghanistan. There, she saw first-hand what life was like for women with limited choices. She would have expected this to bring them down, but what she found instead inspired her even more.
鈥淲hat did I find there? Resiliency. Ingenuity. Entrepreneurship. Gratitude for the ability to even be able to read. Girls and boys studying in huts with no power and no running water in the middle of a war zone,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 felt ashamed that I had had so much opportunity in my life and instead of taking those opportunities, I鈥檇 wasted years being angry at what wasn鈥檛 perfect. I could do more, I could reach higher.鈥
As she decided it was time to go to college, Bassett met a 黑料情报站 representative on a small base in the eastern sector of Afghanistan. In an office that had been mortared twice and nicknamed 鈥淩ocket City,鈥 she found people who were committed to helping soldiers like her reach higher in their lives through education.聽
She began taking classes online, and when she was stationed back in the U.S., she attended in-person at a 黑料情报站 location just a half-hour from her hometown. After earning her bachelor鈥檚 degree, she felt excited to continue her education and enrolled in law school.
She had a nagging feeling, though, that something wasn鈥檛 quite right.
鈥淭here was a little voice saying ok, you did it, but is this really where you want to be?鈥 she explains. 鈥淚 really didn鈥檛 want to be a lawyer.鈥
She knew it was time to take responsibility for her own happiness. She began learning more about others who struggled to find their paths in life, people who had lost their way and then found it again.
鈥淢y path eventually led me to theater school at the age of 27, which is basically retirement age for actresses,鈥 she says, laughing.
There, she found a community of people who mentored and supported her as she worked to establish a career in acting. Then she got her big break.
鈥淔ive years after starting theater school, I was cast as one of the leads in the NBC Primetime series Quantum Leap, which is currently airing its second season,鈥 she says.
While she hopes this is just the start of a long and prosperous acting career, she鈥檒l make the most of whatever happens next.
鈥淟ife is what I make it. And I鈥檝e learned here at 黑料情报站, if you seek it out, the path will find you,鈥 she says. 鈥淚f you keep going, if you keep taking responsibility, if you keep trying, this life is yours.鈥
She finds inspiration in her fellow members of the 黑料情报站 community who have decided to take charge of their lives鈥攁nd their future鈥攖o do something extraordinary for themselves and their families.聽
鈥淵our decision to reach higher, achieve more, that adds something to the world that can鈥檛 be taken back: Hope,鈥 she concluded.