We all have tough days when we question who we are. Days when you feel insignificant or worthless, when you question who you are as a person and what your purpose is.
Just the other day, I got into a fight with a friend, which left me feeling insignificant. I don’t do well with conflict in general, so I was left feeling especially blue.
But after taking some time to reflect, I came to the realization that we all have a purpose. No one is insignificant. While you may feel like it from time to time, you definitely are not.
In a modern culture where we almost romanticize these feelings, you need to realize that your feelings are valid because you feel them, yet they aren’t true. I feel that people often find it hard to believe in themselves and view themselves as others do. We often forget that those who love us unconditionally tend to see us as bright, capable people, which we all are. We all bring something special to this crazy life we all live. Each and every one of us has a purpose. We have something to give to the world.
In my experience, finding that purpose hasn’t exactly been easy. But is it ever?
I mean, growing up, my mother was a prescription drug addict, which left my father to raise me as a single parent with cerebral palsy. During my teenage years, I sought after photography, which for years I thought was my purpose, my identity. I was showing in galleries and participating in art walks in my local hometown and dreaming big of attending art school. Yet when that moment came for me, and I was accepted into Pratt Institute to pursue photography, I realized that maybe I was meant for more than just that.
It took months of debating, but as decision day for college drew near, I decided on George Mason because after interning in the summer with a rehabilitation center, I realized I wanted to help others. My purpose—something that I felt that I was not only meant to do, but made me feel good—was to help others who share my own struggles and experience. I ended up at Mason in an undergraduate degree in Psychology, and to this day, I still plan on becoming an Addictions Counselor.
I realized in my time of trying to figure out my own purpose that it’s more than just what you’re meant to do in life. It’s about what makes you happy, what makes you feel good, what makes you feel complete. It’s about combining your passion with your interest. It’s about just being you.
We put so much emphasis on finding your purpose and leaving your mark, but in reality, we should be focusing on just being who we are. All of us leave our own mark in different ways. Most of all, each of us have our own callings in life, whatever that may be. But the way to discover that is by simply being you.
