Not many of us actually grow up to be what our 5-year-old selves imagined. Maybe it’s because it turns out being a super hero takes defying physics or because America has presidents not princesses. Or perhaps as we grew older our dreams became more realistic such as wishing to write a book. Even still, how many can say their career choice fit their dreams? How many can say their major fulfills their true desires? Not enough.
There are many reasons someone may have picked a major completely unrelated to their passion. Perhaps painting is your true love, but you saw more money in the field of medicine. Maybe you love soccer but just don’t think you have the talent to be on a team. In either case, you have no excuse for giving up on your dreams. It seems only logical to pick a job you sort of like that pays well over a job you really love that pays horribly. However, what kind of quality of life is it if we only exist to work? The whole reason we have jobs is to pay to live our lives. If exploring, discovering, eating, etc. were free, jobs wouldn’t be necessary. Living just to work is like driving a car only to go back and forth to a gas station. It’s okay if you’re not brave enough to drop your major and start over, not many of us are. Start small. Pick up your paint brush and start painting again in your free time, dust off your telescope and gaze at the stars for a few minutes before bed, fire up the stove and try a new recipe for dinner.
It’s sad to think our dreams are becoming hobbies, but sometimes we need to put things aside until we’ve built the resources to focus on them fully again. Don’t give up on your passions just because you didn’t major in them.
On the other side of the spectrum, maybe you never even gave your dreams a try. You laughed and brushed off the idea of ever being an athlete because you just assumed you didn’t have the talent. But here’s the thing about talent; it’s a myth.Talent is really just a passion put into practice.Think of everyone you know with a “talent.” Did they just decide to try something new one day and were suddenly good at it? Probably not. More likely, they had a love for something, and so they did it all the time and got good at it. Which means you can too.
Do what you must to live and not just exist. Even if you’re a dancer at heart majoring in geography, don’t give up on your dreams.
HCXO!