Dreams, Jobs, Careers...Life

Lately there's been something weighing on my mind.

Most of my life I've had no idea whatsoever what I wanted to do in terms of jobs. Oh, I had dreams, like most people do – I wanted to be a photographer. I wanted to be a novelist. I wanted to be an Interior Designer. I wanted to be an artist.

But none of them screamed “practical” to my parents, and it didn't to me, either. I knew the chances of doing any above would not be overly high so I started to think about what else I may be able to do in life.

And I came up with nothing.

So by the time I left school, I had nothing to do. I wasn't smart enough for university so that pathway was out. And seeing as I didn't have the slightest clue of what I could do that was practical, I thought it would be rather useless to go to a technical institute. Knowing I had to do something, I asked my dad to get me a job at the supermarket he worked at, doing nightfill.

I found I liked the job. But it didn't last, much to my dismay. I've been out of work for over a year and half now and it hit me a few days ago that I had finally start looking again. I was tossing up whether I should do more study but...there's only so much a course will get you. My jobs section in my resume is extremely flat and at my age I need to start thinking about the future – I would like to move out of home one day, after all.

So that started off a whole new lot of thinking. What job could I do? What job was I qualified to do? What did I really want to do?

I once again started to think of the creative sort of things. But if I want to make it in life to do any of that, I'd need some sort of course, a qualification. So I started to look into courses, thinking I could do one with the thought of gaining employment in mind.

But the problem with that is that these courses, they cost money. And that's something I don't really have. So I really started to freak out because if I'm being honest, the thought of working, and finding my place in life is absolutely terrifying to me.

I spent days agonizing over this. And then someone put in into perspective for me. In fact, she put a lot of things into perspective for me and I want to share that with you all because I know I'm not the only one out there that's had these thoughts. So here's a few points I want you all to remember:

• You don't have to know what you want right away. There are a lot of people that go through life having no clue what they want to do, and that's okay.
• If you're worried you won't fit in, don't – its unfortunate but sometimes we will fit in with some but we won't fit in with others. Chances are you'll get a few people in a job that you'll get on great with a few people you won't. Its natural.
• A job does not define you.
• People do not define you. They influence you, yeah, but they don't define you. Only you define who you are.
• Working out who you are...its a process, because certain things in life will happen which will change your perspective. So if you don't know for sure, don't stress. Its natural.
• You won't always get your perfect job right off the bat. You need to start out first and go from there; your first job generally won't be your job for life.
• If you want to do something creative in life, just work on getting the – a – job first. If its not in that field, then you can do your creative work in your spare time. Remember that you need to have money to live first and build from there.

This next bit is a direct quote from my friend. I hope she doesn't mind me using her words (if she even knows about this, I have no idea) exactly but I really don't think I could put it any other way. So, my friend, I'm using your words because you're too smart for me to compete with.

“I think work is a good idea. I think it's good for a person's self esteem, it's a good ethic, it's another way to contribute to society, and gives your mind something to focus on.”

Remember these things, people. I don't think there's anything more I can say on this subject. Only that working, living, accomplishing our dreams...it's a process, one we need to work at. And they don't come easy.

But they wouldn't be worth it if they did.