Were you ever one of those kids who didn't know what they wanted to do in life?

[Dan]

More accurately, in High School while every other kid seem like they already knew what they wanted to do in life. And while everyone was preparing for the next big step in their life, were you ever one of those kids who just went through school without any set dreams/career goals?

I'm currently still in limbo about this. I still don't know what I wanna do for the rest of my life. It's like you have to cram huge life decisions within 4 years or more/less. Because I still don't have set dreams, I just work to help my family get by - especially in the current situation.

If you're one of those kids who already knew what they wanted to do, how did you already know what you wanted to do?

 

[GreenPhoenix3]

Well, the thing about those goals is that it's great to have them but know that they can change. In high school, I planned on getting a criminal psychology degree, minoring in counseling. Then I would either join the police force or intern/join a firm that specialized in PTSD. That was my plan and I even got accepted to my first choice school. Then family things happened and I ended going to a college close by. It didn't have a psychology program, but it had an animation one. So I took it. This all happened between my Junior and Senior years of high school. My current life is very far from my plan, but it's no less successful, fulfilling, and it's so much more fun (I currently work in China). It made what my dad always told me real.

"Plan a plan to give and help yourself start thinking about the future. But don't plan your future, live it."

I hope that helps.

 

[Dan]

Well, the thing about those goals is that it's great to have them but know that they can change. In high school, I planned on getting a criminal psychology degree, minoring in counseling. Then I would either join the police force or intern/join a firm that specialized in PTSD. That was my plan and I even got accepted to my first choice school. Then family things happened and I ended going to a college close by. It didn't have a psychology program, but it had an animation one. So I took it. This all happened between my Junior and Senior years of high school. My current life is very far from my plan, but it's no less successful, fulfilling, and it's so much more fun (I currently work in China). It made what my dad always told me real.

"Plan a plan to give and help yourself start thinking about the future. But don't plan your future, live it."

I hope that helps.

Wow. I'm glad you found your fulfilling. I've always been a 'in the moment' type of person, so I hardly thought about the future until I was sitting in the counselor's office with the counselor asking why I haven't fulfilled any obligations to go on to college. I went to college, dropped out after the first semester. I think those who love school should continue it, if they wish, but it's never really been my calling. Guess I have a snail-pace at learning new things.

I currently do find writing fulfilling, but I've always treated it as a hobby. If there's anything else I think that might be something I want to turn into a career is art (even if you can't make much, I think? Or am I wrong about that? Lemme know.) I know there's lots of artists out there, but I've always found it peaceful and looking at pictures with detail has always fascinated me.

 

[GreenPhoenix3]

Well, my job actually has nothing to do with art or animation (I'm an English Teacher for 3-year-olds). Honestly, I just worded my resume right and got the job. For art, the job field does require skill/practice, connections, and the person's ability to promote themselves. That's actually why some artists don't even go to school. They just work multiple jobs, do free-lance work till they're big enough to make a name. College really just helps with the formal connections and the how on getting them. It's a struggle to make a lot of money with it, but if it's your dream, fight for it!

And you're the normal one. Only two out of my family went and finished college (my dad as an adult and me after high school).

 

[KenżaSheep]

I don't like looking that far in the future tbh. I like to take things one step at a time, saying, "I plan to do this, and I don't even want to think about marriage or a job," though that's given me a really close-minded view of the things I can do right now, now that I'm older than I was then. It's mind-blowing to see what I could be capable of right in this moment. ((And I'm not even out of high-school lol. That's what you get for being a homeschool child))

 

[Invidious]

See, I always knew I wanted to go into nursing throughout high school but now I don't know and I'm still stuck.

 

[Hydrangea]

My background is a little strange - So I'm unsure if it will help you relate. In high school I was the person who fit into every group, but didn't belong to any so I didn't have a lot of close friends or set goals. I just knew I wanted to beat others (A mixture of competitive and petty) and that's where all my energy went.

I got my Associate's degree when I finished high school, skipping gen eds for college and I pursued the only degree I felt made sense which was Journalism since I had spent 3 years in a journalism course for school. It was fun, and I loved writing and telling stories, and while I appreciate the skills I learned it has nothing to do with my life currently besides helping my mother's business advertise. However, the steps I took there led me to what I do now and built upon the foundation I have - What I think will help you is something I do for the employees in my business.


Has your school ever introduced the concept of S.M.A.R.T Goals for you? Personally I set mine two years out, end of year, and 90/60/30 days out and just update as time progresses. Smart is an acronym for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely and it may take some work and you'll probably hate doing it for the first few weeks or struggle coming up with goals to start (I did, my employees do, but the ones that actually do them end up doing better) but by knowing WHAT you want, or at least an idea of it for long term you can start making small steps towards it. Reverse engineer a goal and if it changes along the way, change it! You never know you're missing goals if you never take the time to set them.

As far as what you want to do, just start with accomplishments. Family, home, education - what do you really want. As far as a profession goes, you can find happiness with a lot and I highly recommend taking plenty of time to look around. College and university is great for those who know exactly what they want, but some people need to take their time and figure it out before taking on loans or spending too much seeing if they can get an idea long the way. Hope some of this helps ^^

 

[bittersuite]

Strangely, I'd say I was a bit of both! I had dreams and reasonable goals mixed up from the start.
Throughout every single one of my school years, I had the dream of becoming a vet. Working with animals was one of the very, very few defining passions I had consistently while growing up. As I got older and neared the end of high school, I slowly came to grips with the reality of the situation: it was a dream job, but not something I was willing to put the time and effort into. I wanted it, but that's as far as it went.

When college years started it was a lot easier for me to say: "ok, vet isn't the only option out there. I've got time to sit down and think." Now I'm working less towards animals themselves, and more towards conservation and preservation! I'm still not sure of what I want to do, but I'm a lot more confident in my ability to eventually find out.

There's so much pressure, during high school especially, for kids to have a foolproof plan of what's going to happen and it's ridiculous. The expectation for someone to jump straight out of years of pre-set schedules into independence is absurd! The 'life ends if you take time to find your feet' mentality is something I'm certainly not a fan of.

 

[Lady Spriggan]

Like I mean I definitely switched up what I wanted to a lot. I once thought I wanted to work in a bakery. I did co-op in a bakery section of a store. Turns out I have issues with the amount of constant heat and some other stuff. Also thought I might want to be a journalist and some other things. I was also kind of mad at my guidance councillors for trying to pressure me into sciences, which I was majorly uncomfortable in.


I took a General Arts and Sciences Certificate while deciding what else I might want to do. Thought I'd try an Early Childhood Education degree. This ultimately failed because it was first time living away from home while I was taking it and I had really bad anxiety and depression and had to drop out. I took some time finally got myself on a proper medication for my anxiety, which is helping me cope with life.

I work in Wedding Decor now. I started helping out in my step-mom's company when I was in high school. We're a really small company but we work hard and produce really pretty work. I honestly wasn't sure I was going to stick with it in the beginning....but it turns out I like decor more then I thought.

 

[MisterIodine]

I always knew where I was going to go, to the military. Easy, I had loved all things military since I was a little kid, and I loved military history, so I knew that that was where I was going to go.