Passion

When deciding what to do with the rest of your life consider this: What is your passion? What are you passionate about? If you can find a job/career that co insides with your passion, you are almost guaranteed happiness and success.

At least that's what I'm told.

But what happens if you don't know what it is your passionate about? What happens when you have more than one interest? Sure you can ask people for help and advice - I recommend your parents, a professor, or a guidance counselor - but they can only do so much. They can listen to you and list off ideas for potential careers based off your interests, but they cannot tell you what is best for you. They cannot tell you what to do with your life. All they can do is guess. Why? Because they aren't you. They don't know how it feels for you to (in my case) write. So instead they look at the practicality of your interests. They'll say "It's good that you're passionate about writing, but it's not a very practical career choice. Maybe you should consider going into _________" and then they try to persuade you into a career field that they believe will be good for you financially. I'm not saying that the people around you will give you bad advice. Instead: The only person who knows what will make you happy is you. So listen to yourself and figure out what it is you want.

Most parents are troublesome in this situation. They only want what's best for you because they want you to be happy - but most importantly they want you to be self-sufficient. Some parents express this by pushing their child into career paths that are not compatible with their child's interests. For example, a student who is passionate about writing would (in most cases) care less about business or biology. I propose that parents listen to what their child is interested in and try to find ways to encourage that interest. Or just step back and let their child figure things out for themselves. People learn best when they make their own mistakes and have to solve the problems themselves.

And remember: money isn't everything. People claim it is because it allows them to buy things they feel they NEED. When you think about it, though, it's true that money cannot buy happiness. I honestly believe that if I wanted to I could become a doctor and be very successful - but I don't want to. Listen to yourself. Listen to your intuition. If you think about a career (like being a doctor) and you get a sinking feeling of dread growing in your gut, it's probably not the career for you. Instead, if you think of a job (like travel writer) and you get excited/elated, it's probably a job worth considering.

I'm struggling with this right now. I'm on winter break and I've looked up graduate school programs every single day I've been home. Soul searching is not easy, and the answers will not come right away. Instead I'm looking at my options and waiting for something to click, to resonate with me. Once I figure it out, I'll let you know.