When I was really little, I wanted to become a professional ballerina. Reading that, my parents are probably laughing hysterically. I was, and continue to be, the world's least graceful kid, but dreams are dreams, I guess. From there I went through a long string of extremely unlikely career goals, including a chef (I was exceptionally handy with a toaster), a hairdresser (as long as everyone was into the ragged, uneven, shaved-off look, this would work out just fine), and a pirate (anything to be close to the water).

As I grew older, all that I wanted to do in life was travel. I decided that my two greatest passions were words and the planet. Armed with a lifelong affection for writing and an intense desire to see the world and share its stories, I pointed myself toward journalism...National Geographic, to be specific. This held its place as my dream job for many years.

Wrapping up high school meant an increasing number of inquiries from both classmates and well-meaning adults as to what my career plans were. Eagerly, I shared my journalism dreams, explaining that I had big hopes to change the world for the better, and this was how I thought I could best do that. "That sounds nice and all," some said, "but it's really unlikely that you'll make any money doing something like that." For some reason, and thank goodness, comments like that were never discouraging. If anything, they simply fueled my determination.

I started college (something that actually almost didn't happen, but that is a semi-related story for another time) with the mindset that if being broke for the rest of my life was essentially my designated, inevitable career path, then I may as well spend all of my energy learning as much as possible, instead of worrying about how to craft myself into a money-making machine.

Journalism was still in my head, but I was also ready and open to exploring what subjects might hold some of my passion. Now, just over half of the way through my first semester, I've landed in among subjects that, in all honesty, I never thought I would have any interest in. Side note: Somehow I moved from laughing in relief as I left what I thought would be my last science class ever, to the high possibility of pursuing a degree in a science-based field...go figure.

My guess is that you're probably desperately searching for the point of this article at this point. It's really just a bunch of word thoughts, I suppose, but I guess that what I am trying to say is that all that stuff that you hear parents (the good ones at least) or motivational speakers say about being open to anything and true to yourself is something worth considering. If you've got passion, hey, that's awesome. Don't let other people tell you that what inspires you is pointless, because chances are that your path is just drastically different from theirs and they can't possibly conceive that possibility. If you haven't found your passion yet, don't sweat it, life has so many lessons and possbilities to throw at you still. Be open, listen to the signs, listen to yourself, and you'll land where you are meant to.