Reflection 2: This is why I'm here in the first place!

Another week has passed, filled with class, friends, and the occasional run-in with the authorities... Just kidding, but seriously, the weeks are already speeding by. In Explorations, we had the honor of welcoming guest speaker Dr. Danna Walker into our class. I don't know the official point to why she was brought in to talk to us, but I can guess it was to expose us to different careers. And so that class reminded me: I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE!!! This fact is scary, to say the least. Dr. Walker told us her story of how she came into journalism; a teacher told her once she was good at writing, and so she went for it. I'm afraid that this doesn't help me AT ALL. I'm not trying to toot my own horn or anything, but several teachers have told me the same thing. I'm apparently good at Calculus and Chemistry, but those are a no-go since I hate any math-based thing. I'm also a good writer, but I don't think my ADD will let me pursue a deadline-based career like journalism. I could always write novels, but maybe I actually suck at writing. I've always wanted a stable, successful career, but my interests have always led me to the precarious.

And oh, there are so many precarious careers a girl can choose from. Take the performing arts for example. I've always been an artsy kid. I've sung and danced my way across many a stage. But acting, singing, and playing my viola were never real careers to me. "It's a great hobby," my mom once said, "but come on Katie, your not good enough to make it your life." I agree with her. I'm surely no musical prodigy. Therefore, even though it really hurt, I began to give up things to push my studies towards the academic, where real jobs lie. I dropped dance my sophomore year of high school to take a science lab. I replaced choir with a Poli/Sci-Law class my junior year to persue my interests in law. The thing is, all of those classes I took just helped me discover what I didn't want to do.

I can lay out to you my three absolute favorite interests: world history and cultures, people, and the arts. I've already given you my problems with performing arts, so let me take a stab at the others. My psychiatrist, Dr. Schnaps told me in our last session before I came down to D.C. that he realized I am better with people than the average individual. I don't often fret about awkward social situations (he said I was the only kid he ever met who had friends before she even got to college) and I genuinely care about every person I meet. But what's someone supposed to do with a gift for people? Become a social worker? My mom said I should become a pediatric psychiatrist like Dr. Schnaps, but do I really want to have to go through all those years of medical school? My interest in world history and cultures has got me to what my major is know: International Studies. This is all fine and dandy, but I can't think of any clear cut jobs to come out of that. Work in a NGO? Public service? What on earth does that even mean?

In conclusion, I pose a question: When you've got interest like mine, such as the ambiguous and the precarious, how do you determine your true path in adulthood? Anyone?