Career choices & the twists they take

This post was relying heavily on the arrival of Friday night's Lin's Bin on the wxrt website. It was finally posted and I can finally dive head first into this post which seems to have been writing itself in my head over the past year.

The Lin's Bin came at a lucky time; a perfect question that I will never tire of hearing people attempt to answer it the best they can. "How do you choose the right career path?" Listen to it. It is good.

Me at the age of 6. I won all three events that day.

It all seems rather fascinating; trying to think back, I cannot even remember what was going through my head at the age where all other kids are in their "doctor/lawyer/ballerina" phase. My mind was clouded with figure skating, competitions, sequins, hair scrunchies, and getting out of school early to be encompassed by it all. No complaints, it definitely contributed to who I am today, but who would I have been if I hadn't had people telling me that I was destined for Olympic stardom? When people tell you that when you're 7, you don't know how to have other dreams. So when people ask me "what do you want to do with your life?", I still feel like that confused 7 year old that fumbles with their coat strings when you ask them questions like this.

Seven Bridges ice arena on a perfect day where I had the clean ice to myself.

I did indeed train here an an Olympian, but that Olympian was not me.

The question isn't "What the hell am I going to do?!" it's more like"How am I going to get to everything that I want to accomplish?" It's not that I'm necessarily limited, it's just that I'm not sure which path to take; they all seem so alluring. Trying to explain this to people face to face where I have to present myself verbally versus written word always goes as awful as possible. People just end up not taking me seriously or just viewing me as a 'lost soul'--which I guess I am fine with for now. People say to me-no, bombard me with, "What do you want to do with yourself" and I look at them and say "Take over the world". I am half joking. My dreams always seem like a long shot, but I just want to be successful in whatever I do (isn't this what we all want?) I want the path I take to be a kind one ,where I encounter fabulous people and am greeted with insurmountable inspiration every day. I find myself to be in that unrealistic dream phase sometimes when it comes to careers. As Lin says, blogging isn't a career--not that I prided myself on it being one, but that would be great if it were. I would love to be a ballerina or a lawyer or most of all a rock star, but I need to find the right thing for me now, as a 22 year old, not a 7 year old. Not to think that I couldn't accomplish all of those things. I could. Time and monetary restrictions remain to be my excuse. I'm passionate and I believe my drive can take me far; whether I'm on stage, in a court of law, or sewing seams to pursue my collection.

There are so many careers I could successfully fit into, but I have one significant hinderer; lack of a formal degree (luckily in most careers I want to pursue, it's not necessarily needed) An associates is nice and all, but so many companies want that shiny Bachelors--at the least, to come in that office with you. Business isn't necessarily my focus, but I just want to do something that makes a difference in this world. I want to make an impact; reach people through formal means of product or service. Stand behind a product I believe in and market the hell out of it. I could do that-well. I just need to establish myself in the right way, but which way is that? Hey, could I make a career out of making mix CD's for people? It's taking things that I love and finding out where they could be useful in a career sense. I'm specific about who I share my goals and dreams with. There are many things I want to do and some of them are big, it takes a lot of motivation and time, but I want to get there. Each day I find myself getting closer and closer to figuring out what it is I want to do. I'm so excited that I feel like I'm getting to know more myself more and more each day and what it is that I want out of life. The drive of your 20's is a wonderful thing.

Sometimes I find myself freaking out about my life. Like in those moments where people ask "So, what are you going to do?" as if they need an answer for their own gratification and I literally have no follow up as if I will decorate cookies for the rest of my life (sometimes I want to). Sometimes I find myself in the calm and realize, we never really know what we want to do. We never even really know what we want out of life. We just know we want to live it, experience some great times, and learn a shit ton along the way. Why do we have to go getting all settled in one little path for the rest of our life? Why does the presence of someone under the age of 25 arise the questions of life goals? I suppose this is one part of growing older that I cannot be more excited for; you've established yourself in this world. People take you more seriously, there is less need for you to explain yourself or sell yourself out. You have reached an age of acceptance among both young and old. It will be a golden time when it is indeed reached. I am so sick of the harsh reactions I receive from people when I tell them my plans lie in the wind. Of course, I have a job and I'm making money, you know, doing the thing that everyone told me to do. Now that I'm doing that, there has to be a farther step. I admire having goals and ambitions, but having every little thing planned out step by step doesn't necessarily ensure success either.

"Do you plan on going to Graduate School?"

For now, I don't really know exactly where I'm going with this thing called life. The path I'm on so far has been good to me, but boy, has it taken me down some paths I'd never thought I'd come into contact with. I couldn't be more thankful for that. Life isn't made to be set into stone, careers aren't meant to be permanent, and expectations will come and go, but it is making each experience and encounter count so you can use it towards your next opportunity. That's what I'm here to do. Hopefully when someone asks me where I plan on taking my life, the link to this post will appear on my forehead and we can skip on to the next subject.

-Tessa

Currently listening to: Radiohead's 'The Bends' album