“Follow your passion” is something we have all heard at one point or another. Being in college, it’s common to be a little lost at some points. Some of us don’t know what major to declare, others know that but aren’t sure about what to pursue after their four years of university. The problem with that quote, though, is when it is told to the people who either don’t have a passion, or have too many.
Something I have dealt with my whole life is being average. I don’t mean that in a “woe is me I’m not good at anything” kind of way, but I do mean it. I was never the best test taker, soccer player on the field, singer, dancer, or anything requiring skill, really. Again, I don’t mean that in a sad way; in fact, I’ve learned that being average could have it perks.
Being so-so at life led me into taking up a lot of different activities and aspects I might not have if I was extraordinary at specific things. I took up a variety of sports, dibbled in art, thought I could sing for a few minutes, choreographed dances for fun, taught myself how to create HTML, pretty much anything I could get my hands on. But, because life is just a bunch of complicatedness, new challenges emerged from being average at a lot of things, rather than being average at only a few things.
Fast forward to college and I’m a confused freshman undecided on my major. How am I supposed to choose what I want to spend the rest of my life doing when I can’t even decide what dining hall I’m going to eat dinner in? My problem isn’t that I’m lacking passion, it’s that I have too many. I have far fetched dreams that don’t fit under any schools or majors.
Now, I’m a sophomore -- still confused, but not as badly as I once was. I declared my major once I did a lot of soul searching. That sounds corny, I know, but it’s true. There are still days where I question my life aspirations and what I’ll be doing once I graduate, but that’s to figure out at a later date. Who knows, if I decide I don’t like what I’m doing, I can always change my major, switch colleges, drop out all together, or do more soul searching.
It’s crucial to stress the importance of being happy in what you choose to do. Being a sad billionaire isn’t any fun (okay, it’s probably a little fun, but not the point). It is perfectly normal to like science but not want to be a scientist, or want to create the next life changing invention, but not know a single step in how to. Strive for having a balanced education; learn a lot about a lot. Only then will you be able to truly find what you love doing.
Instead of “following your passion,” work passionately until you find your calling. It’s out there, and if it’s not, create it.
