Take a Chance

     I've been thinking a lot about what to do with my life right now. I'm 22, not in any particular rush.  Yet I feel a sense of urgency to Discover something that I'm passionate about, that I don't mind spending the rest of my life doing. And it's made me wonder that perhaps we just aren't meant to have just one passion.
Like great love, finding that thing you are truly passionate for is a struggle for many - and probably too easy for some. Because of this struggle, we assume that we are only meant to have one passion, one goal, one career... one purpose.

     Instead of opening ourselves to the idea that we can love multiple things (people too) we close ourselves off; so many of us will miss out on experiences or insights simply because we never really let our eyes open.

     I was having a conversation the other day about various TED talks, and the subject arose of education and creativity - it's truly amazing how rare this kind of conversation is.  One particular TED presentation, from a few years back, elaborated on the methods by which our society's education system kill our creative nature.  Specifically, by creating a heirarchy of the subjects (math, science, literature, language, arts), we actively tell students what subjects to focus on while passively telling them that arts and creativity are not important.  My conversation then drifted to the effect this has had on our society as a whole and I was saddened to find that the result has been that we no longer no how to truly think for ourselves.

     I was then struck by a thought: here I sit, wondering how to choose what to do with my life, and it never before occured to me to think of anything in any way differently than what I was always taught to believe.  Why do I have to have a full-time job?  Why do I need to know how I want to spend the rest of my life Now, when I'm still so young?  If I do find something I enjoy, why does that have to be the one thing I spend the rest of my life doing?

     I have had this sort of aching pit in my stomach for nearly a year now - this feeling like I'm missing out on something.   I like to think that most people my age feel this way, which is why they act wild and crazy and drink way more than they should.  It's only recently occurred to me that this behavior is really an attempt to alleviate that pit of fear in your stomach that you are about to enter that 'point of no return' in your life when you pick your career, that one life long job; getting shit-faced every night of college helps you to escape the harsh reality of the boredom that awaits you, post-graduation.  Because we were never taught from a young age that it really is ok to follow your dreams, or at the very least to use your creative capacities to do/make/think something original, it has become nearly impossible to think of any other reality than the one we have been told.  Think of all of the things that we miss!

     For my part, I can't say that I have ever been a whole lot better than the average Plain Jane, but I like to think that I have at least begun to open my eyes to the world of possibilities out there.  It frustrates me to know that it's taken 22 years and a whole lot of arguing with a couple non-college believers (who are way smarter than I'll ever be) to finally get me to this point, but I'm glad to say I've bombed myself into mental crisis before I've reached the daunting age of "mid life."  There are just so many things to do..try something.