The Road Less Traveled

"Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love (David McCullough)." According to Psychology Today, the average person spends 90 000 hours at work in their lifetime. That equates to 3750 days spent in either blissful engagement or pure unhappiness. In your career it is not only important to make a living, but to live life as well. A teacher once told me that out of all the time spent at her job, only 10% of it is work. This shows dedication and pure enjoyment in her chosen career, something that is extremely important when taking into consideration the portion of your life this accounts for. For her, dealing with kids and the futures of others is something she looks at with desire; to help, to inspire and to change. Every one of her students that walks across that stage is a reminder of why she does what she does. Another reason that passion is important in the workplace is that jobs are done thoroughly and with better attention to detail when you are enthusiastic, not wasting time banging your head against the nearest wall.  Take the young man who is often seen outside Little Caesars with his "Hot 'N Ready" sign, his blonde locks flying through the wind and sign flailing to the beat coming from the nearest car stereo. For many it would be a mundane job taken only out of necessity. For him it may not be the best situation, but with passion it becomes fun! With career choice also comes sacrifice. A strong example in my own family is a relative of mine who took time off from her career to raise her family and be there to see her children grow up. However, once those children were growing up and independent enough to not need the full time care they once required, she was too far behind in her chosen career to land a position she was truly passionate about. With the bills becoming more demanding as those children move on to high school sports and university degrees she is stuck working a retail job encountering situations that try her patience every day.  

My view on the rest of my life can only be compared to jumping off a cliff in the dark. I can only embark on what will hopefully be a successful path and pray that I will not hit too many snags along the way. With so many choices that lay in front of us as teenagers it is a rarity to come across an individual who knows precisely what it is they plan to do with their life. My journey on discovering my career path started when I signed up to take part in a humanitarian trip to Tanzania in March. Through various research, fundraisers and peoples experiences I have become passionate about pursuing a career in international relations, focusing mainly on humanitarian work. I plan to get there by gaining valuable volunteer experiences in my own community as well as in Tanzania and then going to university to further my education in political science or international relations. Who knows, maybe one day I'll be the face of the United Nations seen on the evening news.