Choose Your Love

Some say there are only two kinds of people in this world, the happy ones who do what they love and the unhappy ones who don’t. I believe in a third category, one that holds those who don’t do what they love because they have no idea what that actually is. I place myself in this third category, not only because I don’t completely know what I want in life, but also because I haven’t figured out how to effectively pursue it while still meeting my responsibilities.

For the past few years, I’ve worked full time during the day and attended college part time at night. It’s been challenging, to get through such long days and to take four years to earn a two year degree, but that choice was the right one for me at the time. I was recently accepted to a four year university and forced to face a new and difficult decision - do I stay at a job that I don’t necessarily like or do I leave it behind to attend school and face a financially uncertain future?

I am a go-getter. I reach my goals, go the extra mile and always want more. So, the choice literally came down to - do I wait or do I go? Sometimes I imagine my conscience speaks to me like the incomparable Dr. Seuss and in this particular situation, excerpts from Oh, the Places You’ll Go matched each query I had.

In regards to my current position, a pointless but lucrative purgatory …“The Waiting Place … for people just waiting. Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow, or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.” In response to staying at my job, something I need but don’t love …“No! That’s not for you! Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!” In reaction to wandering into the unknown, possibly failing … “And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.) Kid, you’ll move mountains! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So …get on your way!”

Ultimately, life is a never ending personal quest to discover what really matters. It is the pursuit to realize a dream, the achievement of a goal, and the experience of being devoted to something. Life is about passion, learning, growth and emotion and by finally understanding that, I was able to discover how to do what I love. That by bettering my self through higher education in order to pursue a career I care about, I put my self into the category where I’m one of the happy people. So, with a fox or in a box, on a train or in the rain …do whatever it is you love.