The cycle is pretty redundant. Pick a career path at 18, question your sanity, work five days a week, have a mid-life crisis, retire, and enjoy your well-sought freedom. Even then, it’s not the cycle itself that bothers me. I know that routine is comfortable—it provides a sense of security. What’s troublesome is that our society has allowed “one life, one passion” to become a norm.
It all starts with asking kids what they want to be when they’re older. We hear the typical responses like a neurosurgeon, a leading CEO, and an occasional aspiring President. But no child ever says “everything.” It’s rare if they do, and if one does, we immediately prompt them to narrow their choices onto one goal. My question is, Why?
Now I’m not saying it’s bad to have goals. Quite frankly, if we didn’t have goals, there’d be no purpose behind all of the actions we take. Having a purpose to fulfill keeps one inspired, diligent even. However, contrary to popular belief, I’m saying it’s OK to have multiple goals. It’s completely fine to channel all your passions, no matter how unrelated they may seem. People make it to 100 years old every day, so why settle for a life doing one thing that is far less than the one you’re capable of embracing?
Truth be told, I didn’t always have this mindset. I was OK with being part of the cycle because I love having a guarantee. I started thinking about it more when I saw headlines of Angelina Jolie becoming a professor at the London School of Economics. She’s an actress, filmmaker, humanitarian, activist, mother and now a professor. Her endeavors range from Hollywood to the United Nations, yet she manages to do all of this simultaneously while balancing life with her family. In short, she is living proof that we do not have to limit ourselves to a single passion. Angelina Jolie embraced “go big or go home” by showing us that there is no point in living small.
I am a Biomedical Sciences major pursuing my MBA. If you’ve seen my Philosophy notebook, you’d be able to tell that I love drawing and art itself. Editing and creative writing have become second-nature. Photography intrigues me and my not-so-secret ambition is to be the next Harvey Specter. The truth is, none of these passions are related. The only relation they have to each other is me—one life, multiple passions.
So next time someone asks what you want to be, say everything you’re passionate about because if you’re settling for what is comfortable, you’re not really living.
