Do you know what you want to do in life? How did you find your passion?

[mike]

I've always been extremely apathetic towards work — I hated the idea of wasting away most of my life at a job that left me unfulfilled just to pay bills and stay alive. I hated how unfair the entire system was, employees getting paid so little while their labor puts money in the pockets of corporations and CEOs. I had no hope of ever finding a job I would enjoy, and thought I'd resort to leading a life I'd hate forever.

It was a very pessimistic viewpoint to have and just made me feel worse about it all. I turned 20 this year thankfully now that I'm settling into adulthood I'm starting to chill out and see the world in a more hopeful lens. I've had a job for over a year now and although it's not what I want to do forever, I don't hate it like I thought I would. I'm just left thinking: what's next? What do I want to do with my life?

Have you found your passion? What do you do/want to do? Was it always something you wanted to do, or did you discover it later in life? Do you ever have doubts? Do you feel fulfilled with your work life?

I think I want to be a programmer. I'm teaching myself web dev right now, but I might take a few actual classes in the future. It's something I have a lot of fun doing and I'm picking up pretty quickly. I don't know if it's something I would want to do forever but it's something I'm passionate about right now ^__^

[Absentmind]

Web design and development is my passion and I get to do it everyday which I am super thankful for! I didn't start my career in it until my late 20s, I think i always wanted to do it but I was always scared of it being something I couldn't do because I have a poor view of my own intellect. I eventually took the plunge into learning development after going to university for graphic design and I am way happier for it!

I was absolutely the same when I was in my late teens, the thought of having a job and being some corporate schmuck used to make my skin crawl. But as you age you tend to shed your teen angst and realise that work doesn't necessarily have to be the worst thing in the world, not every job is a corporate one and that you can also be your own boss!

I would say follow your heart with career stuff and work your hardest. I think a good bit of advice I would give is that, skills you develop are always transferable to other roles and your future career isn't linear, you never know where you might end up! Always shoot for opportunities when they are offered and you not doubt you'll be successful and HOPEFULLY happy doing it!

[Paprika]

I had my hobby since I'm 10 years old : comic-books.

It was a complete accident and I never thought it would evolve into a full fledged hobby. However I have almost no one to talk about it so it was difficult sometimes because I'm too enthusastic on the topic and people are still saying that I'm too invested in my hobby or that I talk too much about comics.

During high-school was the most difficult part for me, it was seen as something silly and/or for children so I quickly got labeled as "reads children books". During the next years I almost gave up but couldn't give up completely because when I felt alone or sad, there was always a comic-book to distract me.

Then came Facebook and everything which made me thought I'd meet a shit ton of comic-books fans or have a gorillion things to read. It was nice, for some time. Now I'm seeing sites I liked turning "pro" and selling themselves for a free book or giving AI-made comic-book reviews.

Taking a break from being always online on these sites rekindled my passion for my hobby and I'm making a chart for the upcoming years about what I read and how much of it, it's really interesting so far !

My hobby will always follow me and it's a nice escape from my daily life. My job isn't the coolest ever but it acceptable and being able to read at work from time to time makes it much much more enjoyable.

[BlazingCobaltX]

For me, "finding my passion" was a mixture of many things: One foundational experience, and many building blocks to further refine it into something realistic.

At age 10 I was sent to a child psychiatrist for an assortment of issues. The experience of someone explaining to me how my brain worked and why I was running into XYZ problems was dazzling, and more importantly it helped me. I came out of that experience knowing 1) this was a possible job, 2) it was fascinating to know all these things, 3) I wanted to be this person for someone else someday.
 
For a while, I still held onto my initial belief to become a neurosurgeon. Once I saw my biology grades and knew I had to veer into a different career path, I remembered this initial experience and how fascinating it was to explain behaviour like that. I juggled between that and anthropology for a moment, but from age 14 onwards I've had the resolve that I was gonna become a child psychiatrist.

The idea was generally mocked by adults who thought I could "do better," but I held firm that this is what I wanted - that I could mean something for others in this thing. Over time, through many conversations about possible options within the branch of child psychology, my sights were definitively set on becoming a researcher - which is what I'm doing right now.

A common advice is "don't make your passion into work", but I don't really agree with that. I truly love what I do every day. As I got closer to entering the workforce, I figured that working itself wasn't bothering me, but moreso the structure of 9-5s every day for the rest of my life. I don't know what I will be doing in 10 or 20 years, but at the very least I'm currently doing something that gives me energy instead of eating my life force.

My main advice would be to have many conversations with peers and adults alike. Take something you are passionate about and consider the many branches you can take in that career path. Do you like any of those ideas? Are they realistic? Do you have a backup, in case your plan A fails, that you would be content with? Bounce them off with others and see where you end up. And while you sometimes need to deal with reality, don't let anyone mock the thing you feel passion or excitement for.

[bugfeli]

growing up a common theme between every other kid was that everyone already seemed to know what they wanted to be in life. i heard everything from firefighters to something like a chef, everyone from the moment they were born already kinda knew what they were going to commit to. which isnt to say that everyone stuck with their original choices, i know many who didnt, but at least people like that had some sense of what they wanted to do when they were older. when i was that age, i hadn't the slightest idea of what i wanted to be, or how to figure that out.

though, since i grew up in a rural area, farming was always an option if everything else failed, but it was pretty frowned upon since everyone had someone in their family who had a farm that their parents would send them to if they were failing in public school. but, since the high school i go to got some pretty good government funding we were able to afford an AG program that delved into the science of plants rather than traditional growing practices. i think it was there, in my first year, i realized plants were my calling.

theres times when i worry that what i study wont really lead me anywhere, but plants are really all around us. and to be honest, I think that plants are so fascinating that any job working with them would feel fulfilling. i have an internship currently as a farm hand in a large-scale greenhouse, though most of it is labor its still pretty fun and has helped me grasp just how far my admiration towards plants goes. 

[Melooon]

I think I've always believed in the heros journey idea of how life works ~ which is definitely a fault! Life is not a movie, but I have a bad habit of thinking it is one 

Anyway, I feel like my idea of life was defined by films like Big, Ghostbusters, The Dark Crystal etc - in all these films the main character is just existing, and then some external force comes in and pulls them out of their daily life into an adventure.

In a lot of small ways that has happened in my life; I did not plan to have anything to do with the web, but finding Neocities pulled me out of one path I was on and set me on another ~ the key thing is being ready to take on an adventure when it arrives.

At times I thought Id be a businessman with a big office in a skyscraper; or later a programmer, or later a game designer, or later an artist, and maybe something new is on the horizon. They are all little lives, and I'm not sure Id want to be in any one forever. Unlike a movie, one of the nice things about getting older is realizing that you have more than one life in a lifetime. Paths that are closed may open again, the past and the future are like other yous.

Or maybe its more like you stay as yourself, but the world (your job, your house, your body, your friends) they swirl around you like a slow storm. So from my seat I'd say the key thing is taking leaps and having those adventures, none of them are perfect, but they are all part of what adds up to become your life 

[candycanearter07]

@Melooon Finding people and little events that look cool are the best way to find new interests, and I feel like people (and I) doon't really think of that much. For instance, I would've absolutely not become an artist if I hadn't joined some youtuber's discord, as weird as that sounds. I really feel like having people with different interests let you experiment with different things while having a kinda safety net and not feeling like it's a massive commitment.

I was absolutely the same when I was in my late teens, the thought of having a job and being some corporate schmuck used to make my skin crawl. But as you age you tend to shed your teen angst and realise that work doesn't necessarily have to be the worst thing in the world, not every job is a corporate one and that you can also be your own boss!

As someone who is still in that teen angst phase and doesn't exactly have a job yet because of that corporate fear, this did feel a bit comforting.

I will say though that it was basically guaranteed I'd be a programmer from a very young age, like basically all of my teachers were like "oh you'll be a great game developer" when I showed them my stupid little python scripts and stuff. Currently getting a CS degree, sooooo

[JINSBEK]

When it comes to finding your passion(s)—yes, people can have multiple passions—, it all comes down to trying something, and seeing if you like it. The mistake most Americans make these days is thinking they have to know exactly what they want to do with the rest of their life as a dumb 18-year-old and get into maddening amounts of student debt for a decision which isn’t even an informed one. No. Take some time working. It’s not going to kill you to work for a year, or even two, until you’re 20, with some cash saved up and decompressed from a dozen years in an increasingly questionable education system. Talk to people. See what they do, what they like about their job. Maybe it’s not the tasks, but the people, or other perks of the environment. Maybe you’ll find out that being a crab fishery manager or glazier or elevator mechanic is really cool and go into that instead! And people change over time. Some people take till they’re over 40 to discover what they REALLY want to do! —Which might not even be work-related. (If you hate your job, go volunteer and do something fun outside of work, or get another job. Seriously, it’s that simple.)

I’ve experience with a multitude of different types of work. Video game scenario writer, political journalist, hospital emergency department worker wearing multiple hats (operator, disaster procedure trainer for the emergency department, clerical work, technical support, billing and registration), graphic designer, video editor, apprentice butcher, Internet “radio” host, Head of Artist Relations and Business Development for two start-ups. You know what my favourite job was? Being an apprentice butcher. My lead, a man with two decades’ worth of butchery experience, said I was the best closer he’s ever had. I could’ve progressed further, but I made and found an opportunity to work with one of my favourite American rappers and get some experience in music publishing, so I took it. I don’t regret any of these choices, because I’ve learned a lot of things AND got paid to do it.

I now work in a Downtown law firm and I love it because all my co-workers are super cool; I actually miss going to work when I’m out sick, you know? Every day I get to make someone laugh, and laugh with them. One of the shareholder lawyers, an aged man who should absolutely retire but never will, regularly barges into the locked, secure rooms just to share chocolate doughnuts with people. I get to dress however I want (I regularly go to work looking like I’m ready for a rave—which I am! Great perk!) and get to listen to music for almost the entirety of my shift. My commute is awesome: I either e-bike, or take the bus, and I don’t stress out about driving, at all. When young people freak out about working for a “corporate” job, they never consider that maybe that “soulless” corporate job is a block away from the Central Library, two blocks away from your favourite grocery store, surrounded by awesome cafés and casual dining joints and parks, is staffed with wonderful co-workers, and throws fun holiday parties with lots of free food and alcohol. I never do overtime and I go home without EVER stressing out about work off the clock.

Is the office work as engaging as my other preferred productive, artistic, creative activities? No. But frankly—as far as I’m concerned, I get paid to dance to DJ Fred again.. whilst doing office work, and I get off the clock literally dressed and ready for a rave, which happens with surprising frequency at the parks here outside the winter months.

For me, "finding my passion" was a mixture of many things: One foundational experience, and many building blocks to further refine it into something realistic.

[...] My main advice would be to have many conversations with peers and adults alike. Take something you are passionate about and consider the many branches you can take in that career path. Do you like any of those ideas? Are they realistic? Do you have a backup, in case your plan A fails, that you would be content with? Bounce them off with others and see where you end up. And while you sometimes need to deal with reality, don't let anyone mock the thing you feel passion or excitement for.

That’s a beautiful lifepath you’ve set for yourself, there. And I agree with the above statements 100%.
 

[MrsMoe]

I'm quite lost myself tbh...

There are a lot of things I am technically passionate about, such as film and writing. That's exactly why I took courses in screenwriting for two years, but now I'm facing a dilemma where my self-esteem feels completely drained and won't let me create anything. I'm starting to wonder if I don't actually enjoy creating anything myself and that I can only manage to be passionate about what other people do and make. It's terrifying because it leaves me with the question "if that's not my passion, what the hell even is?"

[candycanearter07]

..now I'm facing a dilemma where my self-esteem feels completely drained and won't let me create anything. I'm starting to wonder if I don't actually enjoy creating anything myself and that I can only manage to be passionate about what other people do and make. It's terrifying because it leaves me with the question "if that's not my passion, what the hell even is?"

That's exactly how I feel, too..

[PurpleHello98]

When young people freak out about working for a “corporate” job, they never consider that maybe that “soulless” corporate job is a block away from the Central Library, two blocks away from your favourite grocery store, surrounded by awesome cafés and casual dining joints and parks, is staffed with wonderful co-workers, and throws fun holiday parties with lots of free food and alcohol. I never do overtime and I go home without EVER stressing out about work off the clock.

This is kind of like my dream! I worked at a grocery store as an evening cashier over the summer, and there were a lot of cool people there, even though the job itself could be annoying. I'm studying to be a French teacher, so I probably will have to do some off-the-clock work (but I've already started reading articles by a blog about the 40-hour teacher workweek, LOLL) but I just hope to find a job at a good school with fun coworkers! Honestly, kind of like my own high school--sometimes I would see the teacher friend groups, and it looked really fun!

That's my good job, almost my backup plan, in a way. My real passion/dream would be something to do with singing, but I'm not the best as I've never done any voice lessons or anything and I don't think my college offers any. But I want to get some and start posting vocal covers to the Net! My dream is to one day be able to put out at least an EP of my own self-written songs. I've already written a couple pretty good songs, but I think I also have a ways to go in terms of songwriting!

[JINSBEK]

@PurpleHello98 Right? <3 For me, personally, location has become everything! We& had a lot of fun working for start-ups remotely and learning what we did, putting our natural talents to use and further developing etc., but it SUCKED having to be fully remote. We were MISERABLE! What we do in our current office job actually isn't our strong suit at all, especially post-COVID brain damage, but the location is the best for us. In the summer we can walk down the street, take the light rail, and go to a giant park with a waterfall and swimming hole right after work. How cool is that?! And I think young people these days are under a false assumption that whatever passion or aspiration they have, has to be their job. It doesn't. We love music and we're no longer anywhere near the music business (professionally), but now the fun parts of music get to be all we engage with! A lot of folk art has historically been like that--the local farmer was also really good at pottery as a hobby or whatever. We have these special Japanese husband-and-wife teacups made by a firefighter in Colorado Springs, he makes and sells them as a hobby. It's fine to have hobbies. I don't know if being a firefighter was his dream job, but he's obviously pursuing his dream of making beautiful glazed pottery that people like to buy! It's fine to have hobbies! And as for singing my former political news editor was a DJ on the side! I remember one time he was ALMOST running late to a news conference and he was coming in with his DJ hair, it was awesome. (He fixed it up pretty quick and looked like his normal newspaper editor self.)

Good luck with your French, and your music! Even without career-level focus, you can still make and record songs that you're proud of! And if it's singing training that you want, you might want to check if there are local choirs around you that you can join! You can learn a lot about breath control, diction, timbre etc. from training with a group. A lot of them are welcoming to people of all skill levels!