Have you ever heard someone say, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life,” when giving you advice for your future? Throughout high school I felt like I heard this all the time. In my opinion, this is very misleading, and quite frankly it irks me.
Don’t get me wrong, I think it is applicable for some people and that is awesome! I just think that this is an oversimplified version of the way the world works, and it can be more harmful than helpful in some situations.
Personally, I like my communications major, but I do not have a specific career path planned out or a particular passion I am pursuing. It took me a while of being undecided to even land on my major. I have an interest in communication and writing, but as of right now, my career plans are not intertwined with my life passions. For a while, I felt pressure to find a career path that I absolutely love and am passionate about. What I’m learning now is: it is completely OK to use your job to pursue your passions outside of work. My career path does not have to be the be-all end-all.
I have never been someone who only likes one thing and sticks to it forever. I have a bunch of things I enjoy pursuing, such as baking, singing, hiking, and thrifting. While I love all of these, they wouldn’t be a good fit for me professionally at this point in my life. I will keep my options open, so maybe someday I will do a career shift and pursue one of these things. Who knows, maybe one day I will find a passion that I want to work in. But as of right now, I’m focused on learning to treat myself with more kindness and to not put so much pressure on myself to find the perfect career.
Especially in high school and early in college, I felt very alone in my future goals. I felt like I had to decide on the right thing and stick to it no matter what. I hope that this article can help someone feel not so alone in navigating their future. You might not have it figured out and that’s OK! Your plans might not be perfect or look like what everyone else is doing, and that is totally fine!
I look forward to my future career, even if I don’t absolutely love it, because it will provide the means to pursue the things that I do love, and that’s what matters to me.
HCXO,
Sarah