I'm not a person who should be giving any type of sufficient advice. To put it frankly, I'm a teenage college student with minimal life experiences and absolutely no future plans. But in my 19 years, I have learned a thing or two.
I have no clue what I'm going to be doing in 5 years. Not a single idea. I don't know what path life is going to take me down, and I don't know what struggles I'll be facing along the way. And for a while, that really freaked me out.
It should freak me out, right? Real life is scary. Not having a plan, not knowing what's ahead, and not knowing how I want to spend my life is beyond intimidating.
But there came a point when I was done with being scared. I was done with having fear, and I was done with constantly obsessing over the unknown that lay ahead of me.
As it's been pretty clearly stated, I don't know what the heck I'm going to be doing in a couple years. But, I know what I'm doing right now. And that's the important part. Why should I be so worried about my future when I should focus living in the now?
Now is when it counts. Now is when I'm lucky enough to be able to say that everything I'm doing at this point in my life, I love. I love my summer job, I love my sport, I love my major, and I love doing what I'm doing in this very moment...writing this article. I'm doing my favorite things in the world, and though I have no clue where that's going to lead me, it's going to lead me somewhere. Because I enjoy it.
Being young and having the ability to experiment, try new things, and most importantly, test out my passions, will ultimately lead me to figure out how to spend the rest of this crazy thing called my life. It's comforting to know that I'm doing something that not everyone can say they're doing. I'm living in the moment, and I'm doing what I love. I'm happily taking the opportunities handed to me and running with them, in confidence that they'll lead me to the next chapter of my life when the time comes.
So back to the advice part. If you're playing a sport that you don't love, don't play it. If you're studying a major that you hate, find a new one. If your job sucks, quit. It might be easier said than done, but why waste your time not doing what you love, or let alone like? There's no point.
Over the past year, I've become a firm believer in the fact that your passions drive you to success. They fuel you. They're a part of you. Do what you love, and love what you do. The rest will work itself out, one way or another.