Compare-Me-Not

What do we do when we are in the market for buying some new product?  Most people compare two similar products to see which one they would be more happy with. But when speaking in the context of people/dreams/ambitions/life, comparing them between people is not an effective way of deciding what you should do.

I went through a period where I compared my life with that of my best friend; her route had led her to success, so why not me?

Simple!

I'm not her, and I never will be. Some people (dare I say) waste a good portion of their life-time (not lifetime... time within their life) by following in someone else's footsteps (how cliche, but let me explain). When you're young that is all you really have to look at though... you see others (family, friends, classmates, etc) and what they're doing because honestly, who has a crystal clear idea of what they want to be in life? And you see their results! You see them and how their decisions worked for them.

True story: the first thing I ever wanted to do when I was young was to be a garbage man so I could ride on the back of the truck.I would run to the window whenever I heard the ginormous truck rumbling down the street, and watch them work until they rumbled off to the next street. Granted, this was when I was five years old LOL.

As time went on I went through different stages of what I wanted to be "when I grew up" based on a bunch of different factors. The next thing I wanted to do was be in a girl band (hey I'm a 90s kid), then a sports star, professional snowboarder (Kelly Clark doing it big!), and after all that I decided on the military... basically because when I would go to grandma and grandpa's house, my cousin Michael gave his Navy wings to my grandma.. they were on display along with other cool pictures of refueling fighter jets in mid-air. I saw how it worked out for him, and all the cool places he's been, so I made my choice based on that. He's doing it, and it works well for him.. why not me?

Wellllll if you read my previous post then you know what happened with me and the military route. I moved to Atlanta with my girlfriend and we chased her dreams together for over a year.. and we had a blast. But one day I said to myself, "Self, why aren't we progressing in life like everyone else? Mathew (my brother) graduated from Boston College and lives in Colombia working at some embassy, and Kimberley (my sister) is applying to the PeaceCorp while rolling around in her 401k, and what am I doing? Working crappy server jobs without a high school diploma? I'm no fortune-teller but I doubt this will turn out well if I don't figure out what I want to do in life."

Long story short, you will go through many many different "stages" of career paths.. not just while young but even as life progresses. It's a process, for sure! Just remember, your heart, gut, and mind (when all working properly) will never steer you wrong. =)

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My Mistake: Wasting my time following others' career dreams. I could have my bachelors degree by now if I would have figured out what I wanted to do sooner. However, comma (my dad says that haha), I would not take back the time I spent figuring it out for anything. The lessons learned, people I met, places I've been, and fun that was had are memories that won't be forgotten.

My Advice: Do what you like (not "go rob a bank" do-what-you-like, but do what comes naturally to you). Practicality is a must, but when something doesn't seem so practical, you will need a ton of ambition and drive to make up for it. Nothing is impossible!