Thursday, April 28, 2016

Day 3: Change of paths




You would think 19 years would be enough time for me to get used to the world around me and figure out what I want to do with my life. NOPE. I have never been so confused. I am endlessly struggling to figure out what I really want and what I need to do to get there.

Like so many people my age, I am unsure of what I will be doing when I graduate in 2 years. I love my major, but can’t help but feeling that I am letting some loved ones and myself down. I went from the intention of going to law school after graduation to now wanting to dive into the world of marketing. The problem with knowing what you want to do with your life is the upsetting realization that just because you have a plan and are stuck on it doesn’t mean it’s going to work out. My entire life I was 100% sure that I was going to be a bada** lawyer. My goal was to get into the best law school. The problem is that imagining and dreaming about it was a waste of time. I should have been acting towards my plan instead. It’s not too late for me to get my act together and be a lawyer but now I am left with the question of how bad do I want it? When did I lose focus of my law school plan and why? Could I possibly be happy in a different career? The thing is that having a dream erased is terrifying because I no longer have a clear “dream.” I find myself left with the lingering thoughts of years at law school, with thoughts of how much I enjoy writing and would have loved to major in journalism and English, how I LOVE movies but am terrified to major in anything related to cinematography. So I guess the thing is that I can kind of see myself going in different directions. But that is exactly what I do NOT want. I want one clear path that will keep me satisfied for the rest of my life.

Silly me!!! Life will never work this way! Unfortunately I can’t get 5 bachelors degrees in the span of 4 years. I have to pick one major. So far I am genuinely happy with marketing and I have been enjoying my classes. However, I don’t exactly know how I plan to use my degree after college. I guess the only thing I can do right now is take it one day at a time. I have to get it through my head that there will be a lot of trial and error before I find a career that sticks with me and that’s okay. I can continue to pressure myself to work hard, but there should be no pressure or stress now about what will happen in the future.

I have to learn to fulfill myself without the worry of how my career will define me or make me recognizable. Growing up, part of my problem was that I wanted to be extraordinary and I didn’t have any clear way of getting there. What I should have wanted, and what I want now, is to be happy. I found that I will be happy if I grow up to have an honest job, love my family and friends, and mostly if I continuously work towards becoming a better person. Because the thing is we are all extraordinary just by being true to ourselves.

I have finally realized that being happy is not overrated. Wanting to be happy is so much more than a cliché. It is simple and is the clearest path that I know I want. If I just keep moving forward I’m bound to figure everything out.


-Diana

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