Life is an unending quest for equilibrium. We all face many challenges and trials and it doesn’t end until the time we stop breathing, of course. In those times, we may or may not have a choice and when we are given some, we are to decide like our life hangs on it. No matter how big or small, all decisions we make becomes a part of us building the person we are today. The wrong routes we have taken and in times, the triumphs we achieved, the lessons we learned from our wrong steps and how we fall. Yes, it all roots on our decisions.
Perhaps the turning point of our whole academic life is when we graduate from high school. Eventually, the school year will end and that is both good and bad news to the graduating students. The bright side is, the extended high school years is over and the seniors who overcame six years of hardship can now move on to the next level, aka the College life. That may sound like bad news but well, amigo, college is fun, you get a glimpse of reality and... "And what?" And you will fail dramatically. "What?" Just kidding. The point is, you are now like few years away from having a job and earn money and stuff like that. Adulthood as you know it. That is if you don't fail your chosen course and continue shifting like the crustal plate subsiding down and causing ruckus to earth. Well, in the end, college is like the final steppingstone for youngsters to enter the busy society. Bad news is, you aren’t kids anymore playing around chilling and slacking off whenever you like. Responsibilities will punch you in the gut and before you can even recover, it will strike you again and beat you until you are down to your knees. "Whoa, that's scary." Well life is scary if you’re not ready for it.
Many of the graduating students are torn apart between these two choices and that is to whether choose the course that falls in the saying "Make your passion your profession" or the course that embraces practicality, the course that leads to jobs with high demand of workers and has high rate of salary. I call it Passionate and Practical mindset respectively. This, people, is where most students over think and where the life changing decisions ambush them. It is either you'll become contented or regretful in the future.
The Passionate Mindset
Well, they say if you love what you are doing, then make a living out of it. That's easy to say but life isn't as simple as that. We all have dreams while were young and to pursue your dreams is one hell of a job. Sometimes, the idea that those dreams is not fit for your reality and maybe it’s a different thing that's meant for you will surface in mind. You get what I say? I mean, some dreams are meant to just be dreams, you'll soon wake up and face reality and that reality isn't what you expected it to be, that's the bitter truth. "So, are you saying that making our passion our profession is nearly impossible?". Well, not really. With enough determination and perseverance, one can become the person they dreamed of and it’s not certainly impossible but it’s just the odds and how you ride the waves of life.
The Practical Mindset
Speaking of living, the practical choice for a course could be those that lead to jobs with high salary rate. Filipino mindset is that the adults want their child to take on the course that will give them a guaranteed stability. The mainstream jobs per se. Well, money runs the world. You don't need deep philosophy and religious stuff to understand this but in order to sustain yourself, you need to make a living and that's money. We educate ourselves for what? So that we are not ignorant anymore and for that, we can earn money, right? So that we can fit in to the gears of society. That's how it works. The practical mindset incorporates that idea. Unless you aim to be as heavenly as Monks, you must work and earn because money is a vital part of living in a modern society.
Still, remember to have a life not revolving around currency. Treat money as something like an add on, not a lifeline. You should still live as a human being whose life is not controlled by glitter and gold. These kinds of choices are just one of the many hard choices you'll encounter in life, well either ways, you'll still face hardships. Whether the course you have taken is what you want, or what you must. No route is an easy route, some people don't get to dream because of their current circumstances, while some are well provided but is shackled by the wants of other people.
Whatever you believe and choice you make, you face its consequences. We don't know what the future holds for us and the only thing we can do apparently is to live our life to the fullest and just take time on the ride. You may not be able to do what you dreamed of doing and end up doing the work you never thought of doing, what matters in the end is you make a decent living and you learn to appreciate the things that lands you. You'll realize that it’s where you are meant to be. Everything will fit like a jigsaw piece in a grandeur puzzle. So, if you're facing the conflict of what course to choose, just relax and don't over think it. Give it some time and decide what is right for you and for everyone, consult other people like your parents, pray for guidance and, always see the difference between ambition and delusion.
Everything is part of a grand design and you'll soon see the bigger picture and be amazed on how beautiful it is.
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