By Kati Simpson, Senior, Dance and Communication Studies Double Major, Leadership & Organizational Studies and Holistic Wellness Double Minor
When I was five, I wanted to be a firefighter; when I was seven, a teacher; when I was thirteen, I wanted to join the Peace Corps; and now I’m twenty and I simply don’t know. As we get older, we are constantly asked ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ It’s the trigger question for those graduating seniors entering college, assuming that our classes have been filled and our majors chosen. Well, if you are anything like me, you don’t know what you want to do when you enter the working world. It’s not that I’m lazy or don’t have any particular passions or interests, but rather the opposite: I have too many interests and can’t tie myself down to choosing just one. It’s a bit overwhelming.
When I came to Chapman, I was a Dance Performance major. Within the first year, I added a Communication Studies major and a Leadership & Organizational Studies minor. My second year, I self-designed a minor in Holistic Wellness. It’s quite the mouthful. To say that I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I grew up seemed foolish, but true. Sure I had options laid out in front of me, but I had no clear direction.
I took a variety of classes covering psychology, kinesiology, music, international studies…and fell in love with it all. Chapman stands by what they say. They truly empower a personalized education. They worked with me to figure out how I could fit two majors and two minors in eight semesters, leaving room for a job, internship, and various leadership positions throughout campus. It’s definitely possible and manageable. I won’t say it’s easy, but when you’re passionate about what you’re doing, it doesn’t seem like work. Take the initiative to follow your passion, and the world will conspire together to help you achieve it.
When we ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, we subconsciously tie them down to choosing just one thing. But, who says I can’t be a firefighter, a teacher, in the Peace Corps, and whatever else my heart wanders off to? I am looked down upon because I can’t pick one thing, when I should be celebrating that I have more than one passion. We are all given gifts to share with the world, and what a shame it would be if we hinder that. If we don’t allow ourselves to be seen, we fail to make our mark.
So, try not to be overwhelmed. You don’t have to know where exactly you want to end up, you simply have to find what fuels your fire and chase after it with relentless resiliency. Things will fall into place when you choose to do what you love. After all, 9-5 is an awful long time to be stuck somewhere you’re not happy.
I’m sure by the end of this post you wanted to hear about where I landed with all those fields of study. To be completely transparent, I still don’t know, and I’m okay with that. I’m taking opportunities as they come, playing with the hypothetical, riding the wave of possibility, and I encourage you to do the same.
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