MY CAREER POSSIBILITIES

So I’m supposed to pick a career… I still have two years of high school left and

I’m supposed to know what I want to do with my life. It’s sort of absurd to me that I, who

can barely even pick an outfit for a single day without doubting my choice, am being told to choose what I want to do for the rest of my life. I know that people will say that I don’t actually have to decide now and that is true to a certain extent. The problem is, though,

that I still have to be sure that I take the right courses, get the right grades, get the

best training, and pin down the perfect references (starting now) for a career that I

haven’t even chosen… Somehow, I am supposed to be able to blast off into a career mode when I still haven’t even driven a car.

In a way it makes sense that I should at least be able to pick a few careers and

decide on one when the time is right. My problem is that time changes things…

Time changes communities. Time changes universities. Time changes

programs, needs, opportunities… Me… Time changes everything.

Some things that really make choosing a career difficult are

TIME,

CHANGE, & CHANCE

What if over time I change my mind? What if I decide that I hate my career? What if I end up

regretting my decisions and hating my life? What if I choose a career that burns out in the future? Or, what if my career becomes a completely dead end job? What if I spend my life focused on one career and then I’m fired with no fall back, family, or life? What if I do my job incorrectly and end up hurting

or killing someone? What if I can’t handle my responsibilities?

What if I really just suck at my job?

There is no way to know that the job I choose will be a good choice…

I am sixteen years old. I like to think of myself as mature. I like to think that I know exactly what I’m

doing. I really like to seem confident, strong, intelligent, and realistic. Honestly, I have a hard

time wrapping my head around all of the “what ifs”. Frankly, for lack of a better term, they scare the bejeezus out of me! I am expected to be able to

take a huge leap of faith, but that is incredibly hard to comprehend when I have been sheltered my

whole life by my family, my school, my country…

I guess I have an idea of what I want to do. The thing is, I want to do so many things! That’s where the problem of time rears it’s

head. Change becomes a reality when I realize how drastically my life will change when I finally decide how to make my life work. Chance is scary. There is always

the chance that I will crash and burn. The only way I can succeed is if I am willing to fail. I have a lot on my plate. I have huge

goals and the wager is massive.

With such big dreams and so many paths to follow, it’s hard to be realistic. I have to risk a lot to be able to pull off everything that I

endeavor to do. What I want to do isn’t a one track career. I want to be able to bring in

everything that I am passionate about. I want to study and to perform what I love.

Somehow, I still have to manage to pay rent, buy food, get transportation, get training ,

sleep, and just live. Despite all of the risks I have to take; despite the fact that people may think I’m stupid; despite the fact that I may end up just throwing away everything I’ve

worked for… I’m not going to be realistic… I am not going to settle for some desk job that

is safe and secure. I’m not going to be a housewife and live through my husband’s

achievements or my children.

I’m not going to be a doctor. I’m not going to save the world. Those things are not who I am…

So, who am I then?

Well, I’m not completely sure yet… In hindsight, I’m only sixteen. If I knew exactly who I was

already, my journey would be over… If I knew everything, there’d be no reason for me to even be here. I’m not be sure who I am, but I know

who I have the potential to become. I know what I have inside me. No one knows the person

growing inside me better than I do.

I can tell you these things:I am super independent. I usually don’t need any help or advice, but if you do, I’ll be there.

If you confide in me, I’ll hold your secrets close to my heart. If I see something that I don’t understand, you can be certain that I

will find out exactly what information I lack.

In hard times, I will stand strong and shelter those that need protection. I would run through storm and fire or fight death and disease with my bare hands in a pit of

vipers in the depths of Tartarus rather than betray or abandon those I love.

(Sometimes, I get a little absorbed in the moment too, in case you hadn’t noticed.) Be sure that my intentions are true; I strive for passion and spontaneity to be great parts of my heart. I am indescribably stubborn and

I am very much an advocate of speaking one’s mind. I will stand my ground if

something in unjust or dishonest. I would like to believe that I am not naïve, but it’s

hard not to be when you grow up in a world that where everything is on a silver

platter…

I am not passive and I will not settle for less than is right.

I will not do what is easiest.I will not accept the way things are. If I

believe something needs to change, I will make it change. I always find a way.

So, I suppose that I could be a secretary or a housewife or a doctor or even a super

hero if I wanted to…

Anything is possible if only we are willing to make it so.

There are many things I am willing to do. I am not, however, willing to be mediocre. I am not willing to settle and accept the way of things. If I am not going to live the way

that I want to… If I am not going to do what I love…

What’s the point?

Of anything?

What do my accomplishments mean? What does settling say about what I stand for? I don’t know

who I am quite yet, but I know what I believe in. I know what I stand for. I know the life that I want to live. I know that my path isn’t going to be easy.

I know that I might not get to do everything I endeavour to do. I know that I am going to fight for the right to do it all and I am going to do it all

well…

My plan:

Audition for every dance opportunity I possibly can.

Audition for Broadway.

Act in as many movies and theatre productions as I possibly can.

Join a dance company like Shaping Sound.

Work with as many world renowned choreographers as possible.

Perform all over the world.

Go to university and study sports medicine and dance.

Open a dance studio and athletic therapy clinic.

Become certified in RAD Ballet, Acrobatics, Yoga, and Pilates.

Create an award winning team of dancers that compete all over Canada and USA.

Raise my studio’s children to be confident, smart, and outgoing.

Inspire kids and adults alike with motivational speeches.

Open an animal shelter.

Write a book about my life and my accomplishments.

So, that’s probably not the kind of career plan I was supposed to think up… See the thing is, your life shouldn’t be interrupted by your career. Your life and career should be much closer. You should live

your career the way you live your life: with passion, love, and determination. You should think before you act, but you should not avoid the action. You should be curious, but thoughtful. You should be

outspoken, but never ignorant. I believe that life is what you make it. We have very little time to do everything that we want to do. That is why I will

not choose two career paths. I will choose a starting place and I will jump on every opportunity

that I find along the way.

I will conquer the world. I will never accept defeat.

I will not be ordinary.I will not settle.