As a kid, you had such high aspirations.
That painting you made in 3rd grade was hung on the fridge and marked with earnest adoration by your folks, a true revelation that you’d be Picasso in no time. By 6th grade, you were the ultimate star on your soccer team. You could outrun any other kid and be slammin’ those goals relentlessly. You were sure you could be a true match against Beckham.
It wasn’t until senior year of high school that you took a step back and thought, what the hell am I supposed to do now? You’d soon be on your own. Working towards a career that is supposed to sustain you through your adult life. And somehow, that painting that once hung on your fridge looks like nothing more than some streams of paint swirled together to make a somber looking landscape. And soccer? Sure… except you can’t even kick a ball strait if your life depended on it. And now you’re supposed to figure out what you like enough to be for the rest of your life.
From a fellow “I don’t know what I want to be??? 24 year-old who is floating by in a dreary corporate-world lifestyle, I want you to be rest assured you’re not alone. It. Is. Okay. And here is why.
1. You Take More Chances: Or maybe you haven’t… yet. Maybe you do have idealizations of what you want life to be like but have accepted the fact it’s too far out. You may flip flop on what are nothing more than ideas. Ideas that are ideal, but overall you’re more apathetic towards than not. Not enough passion to quite get there but you do still have interest.
But what I’m getting at here is that when you don’t have this hallowed calling, you’re forced to find what works for you. You take chances even though there’s this lack of certainty. For example, you may choose your college major on a whim to at least try to become something. Or you shoot your resume off to just about every job posting.
I’m thinking now that’s why I majored in Communication. And now, I have landed a decent paying corporate job that makes me want to pull my hair out everyday. I often think…how the hell did I get here? But it’s a been a freakin journey. Because I’ve thrown myself at just about every random opportunity that looked semi-promising. You will too.
2. You may Daydream All Day… Everyday: I get to work at 7am and spend at least the first 20 minutes a day on Expedia (I hope my internet usage isn’t tracked). On top of that, I work downtown in a high-rise building and get to watch the planes all day fly in and take off at the airport. And I always find myself wishing I was on one of them.
I think to myself…maybe if I could backpack around the world that I would figure out what I truly want to be. Maybe this ties into taking more chances… and who knows, maybe I will get there one day soon.
3. You may Find Yourself as Less than You Are (But This is a Mistake): Please do not do this to yourself. It sounds so cliché but life is a journey. I’ve stopped comparing myself to my friends who are in medical, law, or grad school. Because I have many who are. Every time we meet up, I smile and say how proud I am. I don’t let my admiration and jealousy cloud my perception of myself.
I am on my own journey and just because I am not 100% with where I am, doesn’t mean I don’t have potential. I can any moment change my life. I can quit my job tomorrow and live out one my endless daydreams. Or maybe I will start enjoying what I do and be okay with where I am.
Your life is controlled by you. No one else. It’s about takin those chances that’ll get you to where you’re supposed to be. Don’t be hard on yourself.
