Into the Future
In my mind, anytime is a good time to think about the future, whether it’s just to see a concert, preparing for a test, or even something long term, especially your career goals. What are you going to do after college and for the rest of your life? What if your plans don’t go the way you want them to?
To be frank, I don’t know exactly what I want to do as a career. My imagination runs wild every time I think about what I want to do, and it started ever since I was a little kid: a concert flutist, a dancer, a teacher, a lawyer, a perfumer-maker/creator, a wine-maker, a landscaping architect, a marine biologist, an architect…
I think you get the point. Thinking in realistic terms, I know I’ll probably do something in the sciences, which I hope has to do with plants. I may not know so much about them right now, but I know I love working with them and that they are so vital in this world. I would love to pursue teaching sometime in the future because I want to spread my interests to others, hopefully inspiring people to pursue the sciences or just anything they are passionate in. Yet knowing that so many opportunities are available, I also hope that I don’t overlook those options. For instance, I try to keep myself open to everything I can do; I don’t know if I want to go to medical school or pharmacy school, but because I know I can pursue these areas, I am taking classes that fulfill the requirements to apply to those schools, just in case I develop an interest and passion for those areas.
I know for a fact that I might not end up doing whatever I set my heart out to do, and maybe, that job or career may suit me even more and be better than anything I have ever imagined. I know for a fact that can happen, since that’s almost what happened to me with my college choices and such. Basically, that just means I don’t know exactly where I’m going, and I am a little bit worried. Yet as my dad reminds me, do something you are interested, because if you don’t, you will have a hard time learning the subject and may regret it later. So I know for sure I want to do something with plants. What exactly? I don’t know. I might do research, become a doctor, be a teacher, write about plants, draw/photograph plants, preserve them, be a curator of a botanical garden, be a propagator, find new drug compounds…So many options are in front of me, and I know I have time to find and choose what I would like to do.
So what about you? Don’t worry if you haven’t found a subject to latch onto. It’s hard to determine what you want to do, as time goes on, you’ll find something. Just remember to have an interest in the subject and don’t let anything keep you from sticking to that subject. It makes life more meaningful and interesting. And have fun exploring other interests!