Warning: This is about to get really cheesy and cliché but I think it’s important for everyone to understand because if not, a lot of us are going to waste a large portion of our lives doing things we really don’t want to be doing. We only have a short time on this earth, which means we shouldn’t waste a single minute of it (See? Cheesy right? You’re welcome).
It is so easy to get caught up in what society tells us is “reliable” or will give us “guaranteed success.” I was always told that going to med-school or getting an engineering degree would guarantee that I would have “enough money to live comfortably.” Personally, when someone tells me pursuing a specific career will guarantee my success, I become quite confused. I thought I was the one who got to decide what it means to be successful in my own life. It seems to me that there isn’t a damn person or thing in the entire world that can determine my success but me.
Everyone has his or her own version of what it means to feel successful in life. For some, that may be getting married and having four kids. For others, that may be becoming the C.E.O of a multi-million dollar company. For most, I think the ultimate goal is to be happy. However, I feel as though many people push their happiness aside when it comes to deciding what they want to pursue in life. The idea of guaranteed financial stability has overpowered the passion people have to pursue their dreams. People take the safe route and end up choosing a path they don’t really enjoy. That seems very sad to me. Why spend (on average) 70-80+ years living a life you don’t actually enjoy?
I have personally felt the pressure to take the safe route and pursue a career in engineering even though I don’t have any interest in it at all. Up until the end of my junior year of high school, I was sure I wanted to attend a state school in my home state of Michigan to get an engineering degree. It wasn’t until the summer before my senior year that I decided I didn’t want to spend four to eight years of school doing something I don’t like only to end up in a job I dread for the rest of my life.
I decided the only way I’m going to be happy is if I pursue the one thing I am truly passionate about and that’s music. I could tell my parents were concerned about how I was going to make a living in music and to be honest, so was I. But I am now studying Music Production & Engineering at Berklee College of Music and there isn’t a single part of me that regrets the decision I made.
I only hope that more people choose to take control of their lives and let go of the fear that is keeping them from their happiness. It definitely is a little scary, but then one day you’ll wake up and become overwhelmed with the joy your life brings you and you’ll know that you made the right decision. And even if it gets a little rough, you’ll know everything is going to be all right.
