Knowing what you want to do in life.

[Puguni]

For those lucky lucky ones, how did you all come about knowing what you wanted to major in, nay, what you want to do with your very life?

Grace us with anecdotes if you can.

Love,
One with college ingrained in the brain

[Puritan]

Perhaps I'm not the best example, but I'll give it a shot. When I was a child I wanted to be a scientist. In fact, I played at being a chemist in my backyard and in kindergarden I wanted to be a chemist when I grew up rather than a doctor, fireman, or policeman. As I got older my father gave me a set of Tom Swift Jr. books from the 1950's. For those of you who have never heard of these books (probably most or all of you), they were typical 1950's juvenile sci-fi with lots of robots, jetplanes, and, most prominantly, nuclear powered everything. I became really interested in nuclear power because it seemed really cool in the books, and once I read about it in real life I realized it was really cool (although nuclear powered airplanes probably weren't all the books made them out to be). Through most of middle and high school I wanted to be a nuclear physicist, and became interested in nuclear engineering because I saw a poster for the nuclear engineering program at UW-Madison (where I eventually went to college). Once I arrived at UW-Madison I realized I liked applied science and math more than studying the theory behind things, and I wanted to be an engineer rather than a physics major. I took an intro to nuclear engineering class and once I found out what the major entailed (and that I could actually operate the campus nuclear reactor if I took the right class), I joined up. After getting into nuclear engineering, and getting federal certification to operate the campus reactor, I began looking for an independant study project to help me do actual hands-on nuclear engineering work, and I was given the opportunity to help with a project to model my campus nuclear reactor in a computer simulation. I thought the work was interesting, and it led into an internship I did at a national lab where I did nuclear computer simulations, and that led into my Master's work where I did even more simulations. From there, I got a job in computer simulations of nuclear reactors.

Really, finding what I wanted to do took a number of steps, it didn't happen all at once. I evaluated what I was doing a number of times to make sure the work I was doing was God-honoring, something I enjoyed and had the skills for, and useful and enriching to society. If you're having trouble figuring out what you want to do (and I have known and know many people with that problem) a good way to figure that out is to take college courses in many things that interest you and go after what you like. While I would suggest caution before picking a major without a clear career path, you shouldn't go the other way around and pick something just because you can make money in it or think it's really important, that only leads to heartache (not that you would do that, but it is a bad idea). Find what you like and are good at and run with it.

[boerseun]

When I finished school I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I had a few ideas, but I didn’t know where God wanted me to go or what He wanted me to do. I started helping out a missions organization to pass the time, since I wasn’t planning on going to college just yet. During my time there the Lord started working in my heart. I thought about going to seminary and entering the ministry, but I didn’t know if it was God’s will.

So I started praying about it, asking God to show me His will in the matter. The first confirmation came at a prayer group, where I read an article by FB Meyer on the call to the ministry. Being the doubting Tomas that I am, I said: “One more Lord, please.â€

[mitsuki lover]

Sometimes you don't know it just crashes into you by accident.

[Mega.EXE]

I still don't know XP

[Sammy Boy]

For me it was by elimination....

1. Astrophysics. 9 years of study. Need to get PhD in physics first. I don't think I can do that...

2. Archaeology. I like digging up stuff. But I like going home to my family at the end of each day. Can't do that if I am working on a site on another continent.

3. Philosophy. I like epistemology, I find it really interesting. I think I don't have the mental faculties for this kind of heavy thinking though.

4. Computer Science. Don't really like it, but probably not too hard for me, and reasonable chance of getting a job in this field. So I took it and here I am as a master of Copy and Paste.

Recently I have realised that I liked designing toys for a living all this time... ? Hmm.

[Myoti]

Way back when I was about 3, I got the chance to play Super Mario Bros. 2 (American one) on my Uncle's NES. From that day forward, I've always known what I wanted to do. Simply staring at screenshots or paying attention to tiny details in games lead more into this, as did my constant stream of "game ideas," which I doodled down in NUMEROUS notebooks (though only a few of those original ones I still consider using now).

Even in Kindergarten and Elementary school, when all the other kids might have been coloring pictures and talking about wanting to grow to be a doctor, scientist, lawyer, fireman, etc., there I was, proclaiming my dream to be a game designer and doodling 'screenshots' (yes, screenshots, for my own 'games' XD ).

I still wish to pursue this, and the only things that really changed was how I managed to grow and "mature" my ideas into concepts I could possibly use in the future (man, I can't wait for college).

[BaiLong]

Well, when I was 14 I was at some conference at there came a call asking if anyone wanted to go into fulltime christina service and I thought sounded cool enough, so I went for it... it has been a crazy time ever since. When I was 18 I went to college at Bethany College of Missions in Minneapolis. Its a non-denominational Bible college type place that trains missionaries... thats all it does. My freshman year I went with a team to western africa for a month. Then My entire Junior year was spent in China working with the undergorund church and teaching english and things like that. I loved it!

So I graduated college this past year and just moved to Seattle. I am just in the states for another year, to save up money so I can get back to China and Japan for missions. Maybe smuggle some Bibles here and there, take some martial arts, build relationships and go from there. Plus, I get to learn languages and eat al the Asian food I can handle... whats not to love?! And all this to serve God, but I won't lie to you, I love it, even when people think I'm crazy.

[Ashley]

My goodness, what a great question! Hopefully my answer will help you in your search for your niche.

You'd think as a little kid I would have been one of those cute, brown-eyed, pig-tailed little darlings that could say, "I want to be a ballerina!" or "I want to be a doctor!" or even "I want to spend 5 years of my life running one of the biggest anime websites on the internet!"

But alas, that was not the case. Truth is, I was a bit schitzophrenic when it came to careers. Everything from astronaut to kindergarden teacher was thought of--in junior high I seriously wanted to be a "pastor's wife" as a career (the funny thing is I just may end up doing it! XD)

In high school I was really starting to freak out career wise because the only thing I was really great at was school. I made good grades, but I didn't feel predisposed to any one field, and time was running out. Journalism held me for a while, but I burned out pretty quickly. In my resolve to never take another typing class again, I took a digital graphics class with a teacher who really took me under her wing. She encouraged me in my art (which I thought I didn't have since I can't draw a straight line with a ruler) and told me I had the "eyes of an artist." So that pushed me into art history (originally) and then graphic design, which was my first college major. I really liked design and the field excited me, but by the middle of my freshman year I was seriously disillusioned with it. The school I went to was SO tough on the art program, plus I was in the honors college which meant I was killing myself to read all these very difficult books on top of the art homework I had.

So I was basically in a rut, academically. The one thing I felt like I could do decently for the rest of my life was driving me to insane amounts of work, and underneath all the pressure and stress was a growing dissatisfaction with working to "sell a product I don't want to sell using methods I morally object to for a secular company."

Lo and behold, that was God's perfect timing in getting to my heart. That March I went on a missions conference in Corpus Christi and felt God call me to the ministry. Knowing this was a huge change and that I was risking my scholarship for this, I prayed, fasted, and talked to many pastors about what I should do. In the end, I resigned from my college and transfered to Southwestern Seminary's college program, where I currently am chipping away at my BA.

Knowing I felt called to missions, I started praying and asking where God would have me serve Him. First it was a general feel for foreign missions, then Asia, then north Asia, then Japan in particular, which is where I currently plan on serving. God has really honored my willingness to follow Him with great friends, great professors, growing closer to my family, the support of my church, and an equally-yoked, missions-minded, anime-loving boyfriend who wants to serve with me in Japan. I couldn't be happier about my future; although yes, I still have my bad days and school here is REALLY tough.

My biggest advice to you is to pray, pray, pray. Don't be afraid of trying an elective just for the heck of it. Be open to what God may be doing in your life, no matter how crazy it sounds. Hey, I walked away from a $16,000 scholarship and a sure-fire career in one of the biggest growing industries in the world, but I wouldn't go back for it now. May God bless you richly as you search for His path. =3

[HisaishiFan]

Sometimes you don't know it just crashes into you by .

This is so true. The big thing is to just keep on doing the moral will of God and all the other stuff will take care of itself. I don't think there is one right or wrong answer to the question of what you should do. And what God may be wanting you to do at one point in your life might change as time goes on and new doors open. I worked by my way through school at a variety of jobs. When I graduated, I had an English degree with an emphasis in technical writing, layout and design. But I didn't have money to move to a city where I could get a job, so I ended up appllying for a job managing a law office. The folks there didn't think I had the experience to manage an office, but they needed a researcher. And that is how I got introduced to the field of law and eventually became a lawyer. Similarly, I began attending a faith and sharing (kind of like L'Arche) community camp because I had a good friend with cerebral palsy and I wanted to get over feeling weird about being around people with disabilities. God opened me up and now I am a parent of kids with disabilities and a lawyer for people with disabilities. Just remember, God isn't like a horse driver holding a carrot (his will) in front of a horse (you) - always jerking the carrot away to keep the horse moving. He's gracious and loving and flexible. If you trust him and follow his moral will, I don't think you can really screw up his providential will. There are lots of good choices available to you!

[ChristianKitsune]

well I remember when I was about 10 or so I felt that God was calling me to be a missionary.

After thinking for a few years that I HAD to go out of country to do missions, when I was in the 8th a thought dawned on me.

Why not use my artistic talents to reach people for Christ? And when i became an anime fan, it was almost slapping me in the face!

Amidst all the cruddy anime out there (don't lie everyone, we all know that anime is always the greatest thing for a new christian, or any christian but that's another topic) *ahem* anyway, admist all the negative anime and manga out there, why not create something that will REACH people, instead of reaching them for yaoi or yuri stuff, or the hentai stuff. I decided that I want to reach them for the GOD stuff.

So yeah..therein lies my dream. I know I won't be making a whole gobs of money, but I have a backup plan too. Art teacher. : D

[Wind]

well for me I have been an Artist ever since I could hold a pencil and I loved Art

but for most of my life i wasn't an on fire full blown christian for the Lord and everything but he was still leading me even then, He gave me great skill in art and then he developed my love of words and vocabulary and then about four years ago he led me to Him through my youth pastor who has helped me so much and he has shown me that he wants me to be a bible translator in japan translating the word of God into japanese and then selling my novels on the side to potentially become a Novelist and to get a degree in library science so I can get a steady job as a Librarian

just like Ashley the Lord has also blessed me with an equally yoked wonderful anime loving God loving Boyfriend and just know

that He works all things for good for those who are called according to his purpose

though it may not be easy to find your purpose in life He is always there guiding you just like he was for me

[The Last Bard]

I'm actually going to do something in acting. Preferebly film. Yup

[Dante]

For those lucky lucky ones, how did you all come about knowing what you wanted to major in, nay, what you want to do with your very life?

Since I was twelve I've always wanted to study space-time physics. At that time, unknown to me I would be starting on my first major, Animation, with ART100. But all along it was part of a three part study, Animation, Japanese and the primary ellement Physics. I was and still am convinced that I was always meant to be a physicist, as though it were a part of my fundemental definition. It wasn't necessarily that I liked "doing" physics. Instead I like the rewards it provides in it's upper levels, indeed I was captivated just this last Thursday in a colloquium on the Casimir Vacuum to find that the negative pressure inherent in any Casimir Vacuum produces the equivalent of anti-gravity do to the presence of a pressure term within the Einstein Field Equation . The fascination is perhaps rooted in an inner desire to change the world I live in, so that it is more magical, less logical and more imaginative then the sad world of classical mechanics. Thus I conclude that I chose my major based on how I wanted to shape my reality in it's totality, and even perhaps add to the furthering of this strange reality by studying the odd higher up subjects myself.

Grace us with anecdotes if you can.

Love,
One with college ingrained in the brain

Note: If you find the major of your dreams late in college, do note that you can change it for your masters and Doctorate . Oh, and if you find out what truly defines you be warned, it is not the end... then is the more difficult task. Achieving that which is now ingrained as part of your very definition... and the frightening question I refuse to look at is... what happens if it comes to not? Or rather, if we fail after we've put in our all?

[aitak]

i think when you're a kid you have a pretty good idea what is in your heart...

anyone read "the alchemist" by paulo coelho? it's my favourite book...anyway, if yu've read it- you'll understand this: the journey that santiago went on describes what i also think about fulfilling your destiny, or knwoing what you should be doing...in the end of the story, he winds up back where he started.

when i was a kid i loved three things- music, art and writing. but i listened to all the voices telling me things about ways to make money, ways to survive, ways to serve God best, ways to please men...(as in mankind)...and i got more and more confused about the path my life should take. then i got married and pregnant, and stepped right back out of all that i was doing and just, yeah, took time out...after several months of just simply being me, and simply starting each day as if it were a whole new life to live, asking God, "what do you want me to do this day?"...i gradually found myself slipping out of all the pre-conceived, socially prescribed roles that i was walking around in, and when i woke up out of that daze i suddenly realised what i want to do, what i'm made to do- music, art and writing. hence my blog, m.a.w.

[GracefulRocker]

I want to be a librarian. I had been considering teaching, but I realized that dealing with a bunch of kids just about all day, no breaks, would drive me insane. So I stepped back and examined my interests. I found that making a list helped. My list was as follows (please don't laugh):

Read

Books

Reading books

And, oddly enough, I noticed a trend. I knew I wanted to be in the public school system. (Summers off rules!!! Plus, thy're paid more than the avgerage teacher.) So I started to look into being a school librarian. I learned that it's actually called being a 'library media specialist.' The job is so much more than the Dewey Decimal System and as my grandpa put it, "dusting books." A librarian is a resource to all students and teachers. A librarian are tools available to help reinforce what a teacher is trying to impart. A librarian controls almost all technology for an entire school, and is expected to offer tech support. A librarian must have atleast a Masters degree to qualify for the job. A librarian does so much for students and teachers, and I want to be able to help too. So, I've decided that that is what I'd like to work towards. Ofcourse, minds change. The average college student changes majors a minimum of 7.5 times. I kid you not. So, I could find something completely unrelated to what I've just rambled about that I love even more.

Don't think you have to settle. Take a variety of classes to see what you like best, and then research that realm for possible careers. Looking for what to do for your life can be fun if you let it!!!!!!!!!

[Alice]

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a missionary, astronaut, and probably a few dozen other things I've forgotten. I always wanted to write, as well, but not as my life. I set my hopes on writing after I realized I was too bad at math to be an astronaut!

[Little T-chan]

Oh my goodness, this is streeeeeeess!!! X_X; To me at least...

I want to become a fashion designer and many people that know me trust that I will become a great one because I can draw and...it just seems to fit my interests and skills. But! I'm very afraaaid because I have no experience in the field at all, and I haven't taken any classes at school or outside of school to help give me an advantage above all of the other aspiring designers. X_X; My mom prayed about this because she was afraid that it would be a huge conflict with my father's wishes (he wanted me to work with law or something...grand like that I guess). But God gave her assurance that it's the right career for me and when she talked to my dad about it, he finally said that he didn't want to interfere in a better future for me and that he believes I would be a good designer...So I have both of their blessings now.

But I'm still scared.

Um...I don't know if I'm on topic anymore...but yeah! That's my feedback~ ^^; haha

[Ingemar]

I'm a year away from graduating (barring any horrendous disasters such as disease, death, or the Registrar) and I STILL am not sure what I want to be.

I know I want to make a lot of money, that's for sure. I was, for the greater part of my life interested in the sciences. But unfortunately 1). scientists don't get paid well 2). doctors, who are like overpaid scientists, do not appeal to me, particularly.

I also wanted to be a pilot, but I didn't pursue that path. I should have.

*sigh* Maybe I'll become a business guy.