What is an end-game? We hear about end-games in shows all of the time. People want a particular relationship to work out, they want something to be present in the final installment of that media, so we’ll know for sure how it ends. I get it.

The thing I like about end-games is that they happen in real life. People figure out, at any point during their respective lives, exactly what their certain end-games will be.

End-games don’t have to be relationships, though that is one that comes to mind easily. Other end-games could be things like careers, family, friends, homes, etc.

I found my career when I was a freshman in high school. Before then, I had thought, for years, that I wanted to be a pediatrician. Then, I had to take some personality tests for a career class, and I realized that I didn’t want to go into the medical field. I tossed different humanities degrees back and forth in my mind; for a while, I was interested in becoming a psychologist who worked with armed forces after coming back from combat, someone who would work with them for years after their last deployment, but ultimately thought that it wouldn’t be the best for me. It took that whole year for me to realize that I wanted in the journalism game. I had found a love of photography, and knew that in journalism, I could use that to help people. The following year, I had to do a research project for my “ideal job.” I ended up choosing working at National Geographic, and even had to do a mock interview. My senior year, I had to do research projects about photojournalism and intern at my local newspaper, cementing into my head that this career was the best fit for me.

Two years after figuring out my career, I figured out where I would live for the rest of my life. On a vacation through Canada and the Northwestern U.S., my family stopped at some friends’ house along the coast. We spent a couple of days there, and I knew that was it. I’m not sure at what point I realized, if it was while driving along the bright green grass lining the roads, staring at the beautiful, snow-capped mountains, or visiting a farmer’s market unlike anything I had ever seen before. There is one instance that stands out to me: the time we went to the marina. I’d been on boats before, and I’d even been to an ocean, but going to the Anacortes Marina and sitting on the dock was the most magical thing. We didn’t even go out on the water because there was a storm coming in. As my family toured the boat and marina, I sat, cross-legged, on the back of the boat, the part on the water but before you actually get inside, for over an hour. Just bobbing up and down with the water, on it, but not in it. It was pure bliss.

The point is that you’ll find out what is best for you slowly, then maybe at once. You might be nine years old and fall in love, or you might be fifty-three and still wandering, unsure of where to go next. It takes time, and understanding. Pay attention to where you thrive, who you thrive around, and what you thrive doing. These are what's good for you. These are your end-games.