Growing up in the recession, I will never forget hearing of families I knew where the main breadwinner lost their job. Everyone was terrified they would be next. i remember there was a large sense of instability, and nobody felt safe. Parents who used to stay home to take care of their kids went back to work to ensure that their family would be okay.

This had an impact on me, as well as everyone else in my generation. From the time I was young, I understood the importance of job security and having a steady source of income to support yourself.

I went to college with the sole purpose of finding a job that could pay my bills. I didn't go to find a new home, get lost in partying or other activities, I was there to get a job. And I found those who weren't that concerned about their careers annoying and frankly irresponsible. I'm sure they would have a different take on it, but I firmly believed that college was a means to an end that will hopefully result in employment.

No matter what my major was, I was always looking at it with the end goal of an actual job. Not necessarily a job that would make me rich or famous, simply a job that I could tangibly receive. As a journalism major now, I am working every day to map out a course to lift me closer to a job when I graduate, and without those goals I would feel absolutely lost and directionless.

Being this extremely practical is nice, because you are seemingly in control of your future and you are trying to take advantage of all the opportunities your school has to help you. However, some might be so enveloped in their own practicality that they forget about the hobbies that they used to love when they were young.

For me, that passion has always been music and theatre. My life has been mostly dominated by the arts in some way, be it acting, composing music or playing the piano. These "hobbies" make up who I am as a human being, and I have no idea how I would function if I didn't have them in my life. It could be very easy to give this all up once I got to college, since they technically no longer served a practical utility in my college career.

However, I couldn't imagine my life without pursuing music, so I continued. I took private lessons, sang in the choir and acted in the musicals. Sure, it was a lot of work and at times overwhelming but it was easier than passing those opportunities by. And, as much as it was, it was in fact doable to focus and my career AND still participate in the things that bring me joy.

You don't have to give up your extracurriculars once they aren't mounting towards some goal, because they are shaping who you are and making you special and different from all those who are fighting for the same careers as you. They shape your personality, and the way you live your life. While they might not be directly related to your work, you would be surprised how they might connect you with other people in your career down the line.

So, if you think it might be time to throw away your childhood activities to focus on the "real world," take a second look. Those hobbies might be a bigger part of you than you think. Your passions make you who you are, so cherish them as much as you can, for as long as you can.