A Passion Becomes A Career

Growing up, school was not a major factor in my life. I come from a hard-working, middle-class military family. My mother, a Filipino immigrant, was a homemaker. My father was a 21-year United States Marine veteran. They were my first impression of what I thought my future would be. Being the youngest of four children, I was expected to fall in line behind my siblings when it came to education. I was never pushed to excel in my studies, so I did just enough to get by. As I watched friends escape the grasp of a military town and ascend to their respective colleges, I was left wondering what was next for me. I attended my local community college for a brief period of time. I treated college no different than high school. I

At the young age of eighteen, fresh out of high school, I was confused and felt no direction in what exactly I wanted to do or be when I “grew-up”. I decided to enroll at my local community college in the liberal arts program to see what

    In discussions of Charles Murray, he expresses his opinion on the thoughts and feelings that are being transferred to students before college, claiming them to be misleading. Murray brings to light the problem that exists in the constant pushing of guidance counselors, teachers, and even politicians to aspire for a college degree no matter what, “treating every failure to go to college as an injustice” (Murray 48). Yet, by doing so, parents and students are often blindsided by the overwhelming cost of college that many cannot afford, or the sheer amount of education students would put themselves through for no reason at all. Murray observes that “one aspect of this phenomenon has been labeled misaligned ambitions, meaning that adolescents have career ambitions that are inconsistent with their educational plans” (Murray 48). Convincing students that college is the only guiding light to a better life forces students to see college as such, an intellectual heaven where they can become anything, such as a doctor or an attorney “without understanding the educational hurdles they must surmount to achieve their goal” (Murray 48-49). They then attend a four-year university with the depiction of college as a “place where B.A.s are handed out” fresh in their minds, thoughtless as to if that particular college they are attending even has the educational requirements needed to complete their career goals (Murray 49). Unfortunately, as Murray reminds us, this is the system that  is in place. For “a brutal fact

When I graduated high school I had no idea what I wanted to do, all I knew is I was done with public school and could live my life as what I thought an adult was. My father and most of my family believed it was important for me to go to college, and get a kick start with my life. Though they weren’t wrong, I had no idea what I wanted to do and no discipline to do my studies to the full extent of my abilities.

Nine years ago, I never could have imagined I’d be writing this essay. I was a senior in high school, and, like the rest of my classmates, I was apprehensive about the future. Unlike my classmates, I felt like I had missed the proverbial “you need to get your life together” message. I watched my classmates apply to colleges, their majors already decided and their future careers mapped out. While I was an above average student, I felt I lacked the decisiveness my classmates seemed to have. I did not feel passionate about a career or even a field of study. I felt defective. This was compounded by the financial strain I knew attending college would have on my family. It seemed wasteful to try to “find my passion” at school while squandering

“These days I live in three worlds: my dreams, and the experiences of my new life, which trigger memories from the past." Trying new jobs you don't enjoy will cause you to dream of what you’d rather be doing, and this will lead you to find a passion. The tricky part is pursuing your passion and following up on it. Putting yourself out there and taking new opportunities will expand your horizon. Finding your passion and calling takes time, it won’t happen overnight. As long as you are constantly active in what you feel is your passion; sooner or later you’ll find your calling and all it has to

From a young age, children are taught to do what they love. Famous role models instruct young dreamers to follow whatever they're passionate about. But is this advice, actual sound advice? Gordon Marino argues that doing what you love, isn't always the right choice. In the article A Life Beyond 'Do What You Love' Marino argues "Sometimes we should do what we hate, or what most needs doing, and do it as best we can." (Page 4, Paragraph 2). Throughout the article, Marino provides multiple rhetorical devices to emphasize his thesis. Gordon Marino, a Philosophy professor at the St. Olaf College, writes this thought provoking article in hopes to persuade his audience. His audience consists of the young people who are about to take their first steps

As a senior in high school, questions regarding college and my plans for the years following graduation are asked to me on a day-to-day basis. College is definitely the most important thing I am focused on this year, and although a college degree is highly valued in the job field today, many argue that not everyone should attend college due to the fact that it brings a new level of responsibility that many cannot handle, many careers now do not require a four-year degree, and because students no longer have the desire to learn.

However, some, such as Gerald Graff, argue that colleges and schools are missing opportunities when nonacademic interests of the students are not taken into the classroom. For example, he claims that his schooling was unable to foster his interest in sports or other “nonacademic” interests. However, I would claim that this is false considering there are majors that can foster one’s interest in sports such as sports journalism, sports broadcasting, and exercise science. In fact, I would argue that college allows one to follow their dreams. For example, I met a counselor who was originally was a plumber for thirty years of his life. When I asked why he changed careers he responded with, “I had full support from my family to go back to school, and ultimately I wanted to do something more fulfilling with my life. And now I am doing what I have always liked to do that is talking to people” To make this change he had to first earn his bachelor’s degree and then his masters thus accumulating debt. In addition, he had to take wage cut of 50,000 dollars a year. Despite this he had absolutely no regrets with the decision he made.

These stories of passion inspire me to follow my own passion. These empowering stories have shown me that if I follow my passions in life, I too can overcome the challenges I will face in following my passion. In our lifetime, so many people are concerned about finding a stable career that makes good money. Due to this, they don't follow their passions and their work is just that. However, when we follow our passions, we may face challenges. However, those challenges are worth it if we have the opportunity to be truly happy and make an

As an Early College High School student, we were told that from day one as a freshman we had to know what we wanted to study and do for the rest of our lives. Middle school didn’t exactly prepare us for that type of environment, let alone have us decide what our future career would be. At fifteen I was still figuring out myself, and I’m glad I took the time to do that first. I might not have known then, but after all the training and experience the last three years of my life has given me I definitely know now. It takes more than just a thought to create a passion, it takes experience and knowing oneself. I found my passion, it was a burning desire to study in the field of nursing.

Ever since I started to seriously think about my future, I had aspirations of getting a degree and becoming a professional. Specific careers have changed constantly, ranging from becoming a teacher to an engineer. As I got older, I began to assess my strengths and weaknesses as well as my likes and dislikes. I know a college education is essential in today’s economy and society. Doors are opened to those with college degrees and a better lifestyle is guaranteed. A college education is not only economically beneficial but intellectually as well, for it provides a unique learning experience as it caters to an individual’s interests

Knowing the struggles my ancestors have prevailed upon to provide me the opportunity to pursue my dreams is humbling. They’ve taught me that education is power. I was able to understand its magnitude by becoming an English teacher to students from a local underprivileged public school. I had been capable of reminding them that they are entitled to dream, simply by giving them the knowledge and opportunity to think outside of the box. As I move on to college, I hope to continue to empower individuals through education, providing them the opportunity that my great-grandmother wished for but did not have. Despite the tumultuous path to accepting and understanding myself, I know that college will be another colorful fragment to the patchwork of my

For many, after graduating high school the next big step is college. I never asked myself why or if I even wanted to. Yet, since I was not yet ready to join the work force, and didn’t want to disappoint my parents, I simply followed the path that I was supposed to take. For a while I had no direction, but through the loss of my high school English teacher and my dream of making my family proud, I discovered that college was the place I wanted and needed to be.

To choose your own future, destiny and life is very hard. Everyone wants to do something that makes them happy. But sometimes you take the wrong decisions or everything decides to go against you, which makes you stay in the box you were trying to escape from. When your dreams don’t get fulfilled, you will be in that box and wait for the light. It’s not always about what you want, but what you need. And to live a good life, and to do something productive, you have to work in a way that will make you happy, because that is what you need the most.