Doctor, nurse, lawyer, psychologist. These are just a few
of the career choices that float around
my mind daily after my peers, parents,
various members of my family, and even a few
nosy neighbors shoved them there.
Each of these individuals
seem to think that they have a say in
which career I choose to devote my
life to. It’s as if everyone has become
fixated with some idea for what is best
for me, that they know what the right
decision should be. Everyone, that is,
excluding myself.
They always say the same
thing: “Be careful when choosing what you want
to do with your life,” or “make sure that
you make the right decision.” It’s quite
probable that if I was to actually tell
them what I wanted to do with my life,
that I truly wanted to be a writer, then
they would all just stand there laughing in my face.
I remember back in kindergarten when my teacher asked me
the legendary question, “What do you
want to be when you grow up?” Of
course, being the charming five year
old that I was, I replied by saying I
wanted to be a teacher—a kindergarten teacher, just like her.
So it’s plain to see that even
at the mere age of five, I gave the answer that I assumed would satisfy the
person asking. As I get older, while the
answer may change some, the
reasons behind giving it most assuredly don't.
I’d like to think that I give typical answers
like doctor or lawyer simply because I haven't
chosen my real answer yet. Though I’m pretty
sure I give it because I'm not quite ready to
say, “Hey mom, I want to be a writer,” or “Hey
pops, maybe slicing people open and tending
to gushing wounds isn’t particularly what I had
in mind for my life.”
Since I’ve gotten older, I now have
a general idea of how I want my life to play
out, I'm no longer just dreaming about my future, I'm about to be living it,and the answer I want to give is becoming
harder and harder to say, causing the whole “I
don’t know yet” excuse I keep giving myself to
become less and less believable.
To be honest, it’s not all my family’s
fault. It’s also the economy’s fault—the one
that's not exactly booming—the one I’m inevitably going to have to deal with the next few years.
How can I go with my dream job if the
ideal job pays twice that amount if not more?
How can I choose a less financially stable career if I have another more secure job opportunity waiting for me to apply?
Is waking up everyday happy, eager,
and ready to work, worth risking the bigger
pay check of a top paying job?
I think it is.
The joy I get from doing what I love
surpasses the joy that a better paying job may
bring. I want my life to be different from the
character in the movies who sits in a cubicle
all day long and hates his or her life. I want to
set an example for my little sister who swears
up and down she’s going to grow up to be just
like Selena Gomez and be on all the magazine
covers.
Most people find this idea illogical,
unrealistic, and maybe even a tad unorthodox.
To those select individuals I say, “Too bad.”
I’m done with only giving the preferred answer. I’m done with letting the opinions of others mold and shape my own wants
in life. Teenagers have a right to pave their own
path, and not be told which one to take.
So what if farming has been in your
family for generations? So what if your dad’s
car dealership is doing great, and he plans on
leaving the business to you? If you want to be
something else, don’t let it stop you.
It shouldn’t matter what your parents
do for a living, or if they get to retire 20 years
early because their jobs pay so well.
We are all only given one life,
whether you make an annual income
of over $120,000 or not. It should be
up to you to decide what you spend
your life doing. It is your career that
you’re going to have to wake up each
day to.
So my advice is, when the
time comes, choose wisely