Maggie Wilhite
Just Pick Something: Maggie Wilhite on her Journey to Self-Discovery, from New York City to Austin
By Tenley Jackson | Social Media Intern
May 16, 2023
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“Follow your dreams,” — the advice we have all heard repeatedly, whether in a Pixar movie or stamped on the cover of this year’s life-changing planner. While it seems like a nice sentiment, dreams don’t exactly come with a map; sometimes, you don’t even know what they are. So, when you’re inevitably unsure of what path is right, take Maggie Wilhite’s advice: just pick something.
After graduating college with a theater degree, Maggie set her sights on Broadway and launched herself to New York City. “It really doesn’t matter what you choose.” Maggie learned, “It’s just the fact that you are choosing it, and you are moving forward with it.”
Lights, camera, action, and Maggie was on her own for the first time in the city that never sleeps. First, she started with all the things new actors are “supposed to do”: auditioning, getting headshots, and “just trying, trying, trying,” she said. However, living this life of “daily rejection,” Maggie said, she quickly learned that this predetermined path was not going to make her happy.
As her goals shifted, “I found myself floating,” Maggie described, “trying to figure out what it is I wanted to do,” and, along the way, who she wanted to be. She focused on building her life through experiences. Diving headfirst into New York city, Maggie waited tables while taking every opportunity to explore her new home. “I just constantly tried to experience the culture of it,” Maggie said, “the museums, the food, concerts, plays, everything.”
“But what I didn’t do—” Maggie added, “what I couldn’t do— was decide what was next. If it wasn't going to be theater, what was it going to be?”
Of course, the answer to Maggie’s uncertainty did not come immediately. In the meantime, she searched for ways to better herself and her wellbeing while living in a stressful environment. "You could find me, a lot of times, sitting on the floor of the metaphysical section in Barnes and Noble,” she said, where she was inspired by books like Be Here Now by Ram Dass and The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, lessons that guided her to find happiness in the moment, being 23 in New York City.
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Maggie Wilhite opening her semesterly event, Poetry on the Pond.
Today, Maggie serves as Student Wellness Coordinator here in the College of Liberal Arts, sharing mindfulness and wellbeing tools with over 10,000 students. “When I was finally able to choose something,” Maggie said, “I chose Austin.” In her first roles at UT, she practiced skills like accounting, purchasing, HR, and event production.
Maggie’s experience led to her position on a committee called “Humanitas”, which, she says, “is about supporting the whole student— not just their academics, but their holistic wellbeing.” The work that Maggie and her team did in this project uncovered a need for more well being supportive programming for students. Now, “not only am I serving the students of the college,” Maggie said, “I am also acting as a liaison to resources that I have educated myself about that may get lost in the shuffle of this very, very large and busy university.”
Even though Maggie’s path was different than she imagined, it still led her to a place where she feels able to express herself creatively and make a meaningful impact. “I get to use this side of my brain that I haven’t gotten to use before,” Maggie said. “This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to be so integrated in terms of my whole self. Whether it’s a Crafternoon or a meditative light show, I’m always thinking about how I can dig deeper with students.”
During graduation season, Maggie’s story encourages students to live in the moment and keep an open mind for the future. “In the end,” she said, “if you just make a choice, it will be a stepping stone to somewhere else. Try as hard as you can to just be there for it, and be kind to yourself while you’re at it.”
We all have uncertainties about our future, our purpose, and our identity. Ultimately, we are each on our own journey in this respect, and all we can do is keep moving forward. Maggie remembered, during her time in New York, that “after a couple years, people would ask me if I was happy.” She always replied ‘sometimes’; but eventually, she realized that ‘sometimes’ meant no. A change had to be made. “Coming to Austin, experiencing a way of life that supported my personal constitution was a revelation,” Maggie said, “ I had the choice to move to a place where I could thrive, and it’s one of the best choices I ever made.”
“It’s the journey of self discovery,” Maggie concluded. “It’s learning the components of your own wellbeing, and then prioritizing them. It’s committing to yourself.” It’s knowing that you have the power to turn that ‘sometimes’ into a ‘yes’.