I didn't wait until I was 16 to get my license. If I have a passion, I hit the gas pedal hard and go full speed ahead. I don't think twice about putting the gear in reverse, and I floor it.

When I was 6 years old, I was teaching lesson plans to imaginary students from the whiteboard in my basement. But doesn't every 6 year old want to be a teacher? I joked around with my friend about how funny it would be if I was doing the same thing at age 13.

At age 13, I studied for all my middle school tests and quizzes by teaching from the whiteboard in my basement.

I'm in college, and I still use teaching from a whiteboard as my method of studying, because I find it helps me to absorb the material more effectively.

I genuinely enjoy "teaching" from a whiteboard.
Okay, you're probably thinking whoa whoa whoa, PUMP the brakes.

You enjoy studying?!
Don't worry, I don't enjoy studying.
But it's not as bad with my whiteboard. It's kind of exciting actually when something I didn't understand finally becomes clear when I outline it in red expo marker.

So clearly, I always felt that teaching was my calling.

When I was 6 years old, I was writing multitudes of poems and stories at the miniature desk in my cubicle of a room. But doesn't every 6 year old have an overactive imagination?

When I was 13 years old, I was still writing stories and giving heartfelt poems to my parents on their birthdays.

I'm in college, and I still enjoy writing as a hobby.

So clearly, I always felt writing was my calling.

When I was in high school, I attended a special magnet school for the sciences, specifically focused around aquaculture and marine studies. Why did I apply there?

Well, I don't really know.
It was one of the most spontaneous decisions I've made. It sounded interesting, so I figured,
Hey, why not?

In high school, I did every type of nerdy marine science camp you could think of.
I even have certificates to prove it.

So clearly, I felt studying the ocean was my calling.

I'm now in college, and I am majoring in marine science.

So how does one girl choose between three different interests?

I am probably one of the worst decision makers you could ever meet, so Houston, we might have a problem here. But strangely, I never ran into a problem. Instead, I thought, well...why can't I just do all three?

I can major in marine science, become a professor, or start my own nerdy science program (I promise, they’re actually fun), and on the side, I can not only be a writer at leisure, but I can use my writing toward publishing work about marine studies.

BAM.
Problem solved.
I'm very confident it will work, too.

So here's my advice:

You might know exactly what you want to do with your life.

You might have absolutely no idea what you want to do with your life.

You might have multiple interests and no idea what to do with them.

If you're scared and confused and not ever ready to adult, well I'm not either.
Tough shit for us, I guess.
But what I can tell you,
Is if you have some sort of passion--any type of passion, you should not ignore it. You should not tell yourself it's stupid because you won't make as much money as Justin Bieber and be able to afford multiple mansions. Is money important? Obviously. You can't really live without it.
But what you can do is find a career path that lands you enough money to live comfortably, and most importantly, lands you happiness.

People tell me all the time that I'm going to be a broke marine biologist. Frankly, I think they're very close-minded, because I can take marine biology and mold it into whatever career I want if I don't allow fear to stand in my way. And honestly, I am so passionate about my major, that I didn't even think about the money part. That probably sounds stupid, doesn't it? But all I envisioned when choosing my major was how happy and excited I would be for life, and I really think that's all that matters.

Go for what you want.

If you love it that much, you will win it. It may take years upon years until you win the grand prize, but you can and you will get there.

So clearly, this wasn't some success story. I'm not a rich marine biology teacher/writer sipping my wine on a yacht in the Caribbean (yet).

This is a progress story. I'm still in my major and I couldn't be happier. I'm not a teacher, but I'm envisioning when I will be, and I will be freaking out in excitement when it's time to teach my students about seals (they’re just so cute). And hey, I'm starting to live out my passion for writing-I'm already getting my own articles published.

So no, I'm not telling you to trust me by any means; but what I am telling you, is to trust yourself. Find what drives your soul mad, switch your gear out of park, and take the high road toward your happiness.