The Career Question

Do you ever wonder if every human being in the work force is supposed to be doing exactly what they're best suited for and what they love doing the most? Is that even possible? It can't be.

I ask because I started wondering before graduating college what I wanted to with my life. Duuhhhh.... I dunno. I took all kinds of career tests, strength assessments, and personality profiles to try to peg that perfect job that would line up best with my abilities and interests...oh, and provide a decent paycheck. The result? I'm one of those people that landed smack in the middle in every category. Not a bad place to be I suppose, but not a great one for finding career direction either. Consequently, I've played it safe in the admin world ever since, thinking about what I wish I would've done in college.

Here's my question today: what's wrong with starting now??? I'm only 25. Hardly too old to start in a new direction. But then the obvious next question is the same as above: what do I want to do? Phooey. I love interior and fashion design. I could be a stylist! But then I think I'd run out of ideas in four days. The list goes on. My other dream jobs include Art Curator, Ambassador, Editor, blah, blah, blah. And last, but not least, drumroll please...Writer.

Writing is the one I always come back to in the end. The reality is, as a writer, I think you get to be the best explorer of all! Look at it this way: By the end of an acting career, I think the actor has been just about everything in the book, from an expert horseman to a merman to an undercover agent. I think writers enjoy a similar life. Perhaps not as up-close and personal as an actor, but pretty darn close. And maybe I'm wrong -- maybe an established writer would read this and laugh. But the best writers I know are adventurous, observant, curious, determined and creative, all qualities I possess to some degree. So let's call this my 2011 New Year's Resolution: to become a writer. Even if it's part-time freelance for now, at least it'll be a start. Because who wants to spend their entire lives wishing they'd done something else?