Isn’t it funny how we have our lives all planned out based on what we think or what we’ve heard? And it’s usually based off of someone else’s missteps or misguided thoughts and dreams.
When I was in elementary school I remember a family member asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said I wanted to be a lawyer and that stuck until I didn’t become a lawyer.
I had gotten the lawyer idea because my mom was a juvenile probation officer and after school she’d pick me up and we’d head back to her office. She interacted with lots of judges and lawyers so it seemed like a pretty cool thing to do. I knew I didn’t want to work with troubled youth, however arguing for their rights or other people’s rights seemed way more fun. So lawyer, it was and that’s what stuck.
Fast forward to college and I still hadn’t come up with anything else other than the lawyer thing. I mean I had told everyone in the family and it was an easy career aspiration and no one questioned it. Not even me.
I can remember my junior year taking a course on how to take the LSAT. The most exciting thing I got out of that course was learning how to do logic games. I loved that part of the test and the assignment of getting a puzzle book with all logic games to practice. It was the other parts of the test that tripped me up.
The first time I took the test I didn’t do so well. It was okay, but not the score I needed to actually get accepted into law school and not with the grades I had. Average grades, average score, it just didn’t equate to a good law school.
In my mind I really wasn’t interested. It was boring to me, however I had already told everyone, I couldn’t…change my mind. So, I took the test again and did slightly better. I applied to several law schools and got a mix of no’s and maybes or what they call wait listed. I was so happy to get those letters. It was my excuse to not have to go.
I cherish the experience because it challenged me. It brought out a side of me I wouldn’t have otherwise seen. It was all a part of the journey.
Eventually I’d discover my love for computers and programming which ties in right nicely with why I gravitated to those logic games. That’s basically what programming is when you have to think of how to do something from the end result and working it backwards.
I don’t concern myself anymore with what I’ve told everyone I’d do. Changing my mind is my right. When you’re limited by the information that you only know at the time, you’re bound to change your mind when you learn more.
If there’s something you’ve been holding on to just because you’ve told everyone and you don’t want to seem like a flake changing your mind…do it anyway!
Your life is yours.
– If you’re in a career because someone else thought you’d be a great fit, but you hate it, time to search for something else.
– If you’re living in a city because that’s where all of your family is, but you really don’t want to be there, decide what you’d like in a city and take actions towards making the relocation happen.
– If you’re in a relationship with your college sweetheart and it’s more of an ache than anything else, but everyone thinks you guys are just the cutest couple, and now you’re engaged. If it’s not right, you already know what you must do.
Don’t let anyone else’s ideas, thoughts, or concerns get in your way of being who you really are.
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