What's Your Passion

Lately I have been talking with a lot of the seniors and I noticed a common theme among several of the students. They seemed to be scared about their future. Several have stated "what if I haven't selected the right major in college?" or "I can't decide what I want to do yet, it seems like so many others know what they want to do." I realize this time of year there can be a lot of anxiety growing with many of our students and actually students everywhere. Graduation is near and there are so many things to think about. Well I hope I can mention a few things in this blog that will help you look at the decision a little different and take your mind off the worry so you can enjoy the rest of the school year.

One of the first things I want to mention is that choosing the wrong major is not the end of the world. You will not be the first and you certainly will not be the last to have done this. I know you are thinking about the cost and that it would be a total waste of money to go to school for two or four years and then realize you do not want to pursue a career in that field. I get that (and so do your parents/guardians). However, you have to realize that your first year in college, you will probably be taking general education classes that you would need no matter what major you are going into. This really gives you an extra year to be thinking about your major and you can always change it your second year. You will hang around other students while away at college and you will be talking to them about their majors or some that may be majoring in the same subject area as you are. This will give you some tremendous input. Maybe by talking to someone in another area, their field of study may sound really interesting and it might be something you think you would love doing for a career. The main thing to remember is that you will not be tied to a decision that you made while a senior in high school for the rest of your life.

The second thing I want to mention is that whatever you choose, please have a passion for that field of study. I don't want you to go into a field of study just because it pays great. If that is the only reason that you make your choice, you will be miserable in life. That I can promise you. I know that when you are young it is easy to think that finding a job that pays six figures will make you happy no matter what anyone says. I have heard that stated and the person continued to argue with me. Maybe many of you reading this believe the same thing. If you are doing something that you do not enjoy, for eight to ten hours a day, you will not last long. Webster describes passion as "a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something". Spend a lot of time thinking about what you are passionate about. What is it that you know you could do, and the day would fly by because you enjoy doing it so much. Once you have discovered it, investigate that line of work. Will it be able to support you and your future family? Is it truly something you would love doing all day long? Once you answer these questions, you are on your way to finding your career.

Finally, I think a lot of the pressure that many of the students are feeling, is based on the idea that they will have to do this job "their entire life". I have heard people state that an average person will change careers anywhere from 3 - 7 times in their life. After investigating that a little bit, I found that the Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor and Statistics don't even track those numbers because they say that no consensus has emerged on what constitutes a career change. I do feel the number is closer to three than it is to seven.

Let me give you a real life example: I graduated from Western Michigan with an Engineering degree, I worked for over 15 years in the automotive field as an engineer. I left Michigan and moved to beautiful Delphos Ohio where I became an entrepreneur for almost eleven years. While I was owner of my own business, I found time to substitute in the public school systems in and around Delphos and became passionate about school counseling and helping out the students in whatever way I could. I earned my School Counseling degree and here I am today. So I guess you could say I am about average. My point is, don't let the idea bother you that once you choose a career then you are stuck with it. Wherever your passion takes you in life, you will have the ability to follow it. Your passion may change over time, that's okay. Feel free to follow that passion and experience an exhilarating life. A life that you know will provide happiness and pleasure.

I hope some of these points will help relieve your anxiety. I hope I have caused you to think about your passion in life and what drives you. I hope you will understand that life is really only given to us one day at a time, and that you will live that one day with passion and gusto. Take care, enjoy the rest of the year and stop by my office and just say hello. Thanks!