By definition, a compass is a device used for navigation. It helps travelers, both literal and figurative, choose the correct path to find their destination.
Spencer Crandall thought he had his path mapped out, then his life compass broke.
He arrived at Colorado Mesa University as a football defensive lineman in 2013 with lots of potential.
Football was his entire focus and his entire identity to a certain degree.
Like many top high school football players, big dreams await as they come to college.
But for this freshman, before his college career even got off the ground, he was grounded with injuries to both shoulders.
A trip to the doctor handed Crandall a harsh reality check. Two torn labrums, a torn bicep muscle and an assortment of other shoulder problems.
His new reality was a blunt diagnosis.
“They said ‘you’re a mess,” Crandall chuckled.
Football was over. His focus and identity and his future needed to change.
It was time to transition. But to what?
“There was a transition period between ‘I’m an athlete, this is what I do’ to ‘I’m not an athlete, what do I do?’
“I had a full blown identity crisis. I was a football player, that was my identity.”
Focus on the future was gone.
“I was lacking a greater purpose, my compass wasn’t really pointing at anything,” he said.
He didn’t realize it at the time, but his compass had been pointing at a cheap guitar in the corner of his dorm room.
