Those of you who are avid readers of the Daily — and I know you exist — have never seen me before. Reason being, I’m new.

You may have seen my name appear in various bylines here and there, but nothing worth remembering.

So you’re probably asking yourself, “How did this guy ever get a column?” It’s a fair question. And the answer, my friends, is simple. I was handpicked by this talented staff to fill this space … and then I woke up.

The truth is I’m a fill in, a last resort. Two — count them two — other columnists were picked before me. It was only after receiving their resignations that the Daily turned to me.

That’s it, that’s my story, I’m a second pick. But don’t stop reading yet, it gets worse.

After coming upon this harsh reality, I started thinking back on my past and realized this second-pick business is anything but a freak occurrence.

It’s been happening to me for 19 years. Allow me to reflect on some of the main points; but believe me, there are plenty more.

I’m a second child. In traditional families, the second child is the one who gets crapped on (I guess you could call my family a traditional one).

In grade school my worst nightmare came true when we lined up to pick teams for kickball at recess. I wasn’t even close to the second pick.

Every night my dog would sleep on my parents’ bed, and only after they woke up did she come into my room. Let’s not even discuss my social life.

It’s a cruel world I live in, ladies and gentlemen, but please don’t feel sorry for me. It’s not all bad being the second pick.

In fact, it has its perks. There isn’t the handful of responsibilities that comes with being the first pick — like when a teacher asks a question and the room gets silent because no one wants to speak up and be embarrassed.

I can rest assured the teacher’s eyes will never fall upon me.

Or what about when a dog is looking for a nice place to leave his cargo? You can bet his presence won’t grace my lawn.

So, it’s not all that bad. In fact, some people have made some pretty good livings as a second pick. Here are a few of the people I look up to.

An awkward-looking lawyer decided to give up the courtroom for politics. He tried numerous times to earn his party’s presidential nomination only to be denied.

When he finally got the opportunity to run for office, he became the only president in history to be elected by less than 50 percent of the popular vote. Today, Abraham Lincoln is regarded as the man who saved our country.

An unknown actor showed a screenplay he wrote to a movie company. They loved it, but the man they envisioned for the leading role was Burt Reynolds.

The young actor refused to sell the rights to the script if he could not be cast in that part.

After much debate, the company reluctantly met his demands, and this unknown actor was nominated for an Academy Award.

Can you imagine Burt Reynolds as our beloved Rocky? Sly Stallone now looks back on a very successful movie career.

Two high school sophomores decided to try out for the varsity basketball team. One made the team and the other was cut on account of his height.

He was crushed and even considered giving up the game. Now I ask you, what would the NBA be today without Michael Jordan?

The list of famous second picks goes on and on. David Letterman, Troy Davis, Jerry Seinfeld, Ringo Starr — wait, just forget about Ringo.

Some people are given the opportunities and some aren’t. That’s the way it is. But as these people have demonstrated, it matters not the opportunities you are given, but what you do with them.

So take a chance on a second pick sometime, you might be surprised by the results.

As Robert Frost wrote, “Two roads diverged in the wood; and I, I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference.”

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Jackson Lashier is a freshman in journalism and mass communication from Marshalltown.