Finding your passion

College Confidential Community
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<p>I actually was trying to post this on another forum but I'll post it here, even though it might not be fitting for college students who most likely haven't realized their passion yet. Here goes:</p>

<p>I just wanted to start a thread where people could share their stories on how they found their passion. How did you find what you love to do? or have you? Is it your job? or would you quit your job for something else if you could?</p>

<p>I feel like I have so many interests and hobbies and that my time could be better spent improving one "thing" and making it my sole passion. In middle school I picked up drumming and became obsessed, but since then it has died off to something I do when I'm bored, and I'm no longer improving anywhere near the rate I used to because I rarely practice. In the fall I am attending UCLA to study computer science because I have always had a passion for computers. And this past summer I picked up photography as a new hobby, and I'm slowly becoming more and more immersed. How long will it be before I figure out what is it I love to do and make that my "thing" or turn it into my career? or is that necessary? I get so disappointed when I hear about, for example, musicians born in a musician family, played since they were 3, had their life basically set out for them to become great in their field. And I'm stuck here and lost. </p>

<p>What's your take on all of this? Thanks for your responses.</p>

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<p>It was really hard for me to figure out what I wanted to do. I found the whole prospect very intimidating…particularly the ‘for the rest of your life’ part. The thought of being one of those middle-aged people who hates their job was so abhorrent to me.</p>

<p>My parents constantly pushed me into different activities when I was younger, everything from sports to foreign languages to dance to music. They wanted me to have every opportunity in life. This helped with identifying hobbies, but not so much with the career path I wanted. It wasn’t until I began working at a hospital that I knew for sure this was what I wanted out of my life. For the first time, I had found not a ‘job’ but a passion. From then on, my path was set. </p>

<p>I can identify with what you’re saying because I’ve also felt jealous of other people who seemed to always know what they wanted out of life. But the way I look at it is, they didn’t have the time to explore other possibilities and interests that I did. So who is really the lucky one?</p>

<p>One thing that did help when I was younger was a career course. We took personality tests and aptitude tests to help us discover where our talents and passions were leading. I’d recommend it for anyone who is struggling in that area. Most colleges offer them.</p>