Being in college has taught me a lot. I've learned better time management, how to live on my own and be self-supportive, how to be more responsible, and I think its safe to say my social skills have improved a little bit. I've grown as a person. But I've been starting to think to myself, and I'm sure others have at some point "Am I making the right choice?". This can apply to damn near anything but first I mean it in the career aspect. Do I really want to be a CJ major? Do I really want to work in law enforcement? Back in high school I had a few options for careers: being something CJ-related, a doctor, musician, an actor....blah blah. I sort of felt like I just chose to be a CJ because it was thrust upon me and it seemed like a good idea at the time; basically I'm trying to say that I feel like the decision wasn't really mine, that my parents thought I had an heightened interest in it and just assumed I wanted to pursue that and egged me on, when really I had no damn clue what I wanted to do/be. We're still trying to find our real identity and trying to be happy with who we are during that time.
So now to try to help all of you. I'm going to tell you what I did. Think and ask yourself, and dig deep, "Can I see myself doing this? What do I see myself doing with my life?" I did a lot of self-analyzing, and I still do. Now, I have my own spiritual beliefs, and my own theory on the universe, but I do like to think that there may be hidden signs that you're on the right "path". Take a step back from your life. And see if there is something hidden that you're missing. I really don't want to go into detail about the things in my life, at least not yet anyway, but these "signs" have the meaning you give them. So far, I think I'm making the right choice in my life and I'm going to stick with it, because I don't see a reason not to. I have a feeling deep down that it will be worth it, partly because I've seen a few signs along the way. But the key to this is finding out who you are, because then you can decide what you want to be.
Apart from finding out who you are, there is also finding out what makes you not just happy, but a whole person. These two things are connected: the person you are and what makes you feel fulfilled. So me pursuing a CJ major will make me happy and is some-what related to who I am, but that doesn't necessarily make me fulfilled. This is where things like hobbies come in and things like that, etc. An example: I'll admit I starting watching Man vs Wild from the start and I love watching it. I like how Bear goes into these situations with nothing but a knife, a flask, and the clothes on his back and shows you how to survive with just that. But I really love the outdoors, nature, solitude, etc; its sort of a secret little joy of mine. But I'd never really have the time or money or skill to just throw myself into the wild and have some epic self-revealing journey back to civilization. But I do enjoy the outdoors. A lot. Over this past Spring Break I went on a hike with some friends and I loved it. I did learn a few things about myself too. I'd like to go on more and in new locations, but there is more. I want to give back. That is where fulfillment comes in.
Find something that makes you happy and that you enjoy doing, but share your enjoyment somehow with someone. If I show a picture of a bird I saw on some hike to my girlfriend and just as long as she doesn't shrug it off like "Whatever...that's lame....", somewhere inside me that would make me happy because I'm sharing my experience with her. With all that said....I'll leave this here and let you mull over this. This isn't a clear cut guide to happiness or anything, but it may help you. Take from this what you will.
"Find something to believe in, and find it for yourself. When you do, pass it on to the future."
"Believe in what?"
"That's your problem."
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