I wound up getting my degree in sports medicine and nutrition

When Derek Theler confessed, “I wound up getting my degree in sports medicine and nutrition because I wanted to work in the medical field. But I wound up taking a trip to Los Angeles and decided being an actor sounds pretty cool, too,” he gave voice to one of life’s greatest mysteries: the winding road of destiny. His words remind us that while we may set our hearts on one path with diligence and discipline, fate often whispers from another road, calling us to a new adventure. It is not failure to change course; it is the courage to listen when life offers a different song.

The meaning of this truth is profound. Many believe that to choose a profession or calling is to bind oneself forever to a single way. Yet Theler’s journey shows that the heart is vast enough to hold many desires, and that even the most serious pursuits, such as medicine, may give way to the unexpected joy of art. To walk one path and then pivot to another is not weakness but growth, for each path teaches its own wisdom. Sports medicine and nutrition taught him discipline, science, and care for the body, and these lessons surely followed him into the craft of acting, where the body is an instrument of storytelling.

The ancients themselves knew this dance between callings. Consider Marcus Aurelius, who was trained in philosophy and governance, yet who poured forth wisdom in his Meditations, becoming both emperor and philosopher. Or think of Leonardo da Vinci, who could have been only a painter, but became also an engineer, anatomist, and dreamer of machines. Their lives teach us that destiny is rarely a straight line, and that the weaving of different strands often creates the strongest tapestry. Theler’s leap from the medical field to the stage is another thread in this timeless fabric.

History offers us the story of Saint Luke, known to many as both physician and evangelist. He healed bodies with medicine, but he also healed spirits with words, writing one of the sacred Gospels. His dual paths did not conflict; they enriched each other. So too in Theler’s choice, there is no betrayal of his studies, for the care for the body and the craft of acting both serve humanity — one through healing, the other through inspiration, story, and laughter.

The lesson for us is this: do not fear the changing of your road. What begins as a desire for medicine may end in the fire of art; what begins as study of law may end in the practice of poetry. The heart is not fixed, and life often reveals hidden doors that we could never have foreseen. To resist change out of fear is to chain yourself to one destiny; to embrace it with courage is to honor the full breadth of your humanity.

Practical actions arise from this wisdom. Cultivate skills with diligence, as Theler did in sports medicine and nutrition, but remain open to new callings. When opportunities arise, do not dismiss them simply because they do not match your original plan. Instead, ask whether they awaken joy, passion, or purpose in you. If they do, walk boldly toward them, knowing that no education is wasted, for all knowledge, once gained, finds use in the journey ahead.

Thus, Derek Theler’s words ring not as a lighthearted anecdote but as timeless counsel: the road you begin is not always the road you finish, and that is no shame. To change direction is not to lose yourself, but to discover another part of who you are meant to be. May you, like him, honor both the discipline of study and the spontaneity of destiny, for in the balance of these lies the fullness of life.