Have you seen my purpose?
![female student resting head on hand looking distant](/student/wellbeing/sites/default/files/styles/ua_image_landscape/public/media/images/2022-04/pexels-pixabay-459971.jpg?h=c4dd2c7b&itok=WQLuREPH)
I'm a person of many loves and hobbies, and this makes choosing the 'right' degree real tough for me sometimes.
I often look at my peers and think, 'They're so lucky. They've known what they want to do for years already, and I still don't know!' I started a bachelor of science in animal behaviour last year, and have since transferred into a bachelor of linguistics. Super different from each other, right? But it just shows how I have such a vast interest in so many different areas!
In one of my courses this semester, we discussed a paper by Raymond Williams that talked about the working culture. His argument on working towards career was, 'First the purpose, then the working skill.' In other words, he was saying first you find what your purpose is and what you want to do with it in life, and then you learn the skill required for that purpose.
I think we're pretty lucky to live in a generation that has shifted from this way of thinking. There are many modes of education nowadays, and so many ways to make your career whatever you want it to be with the booming of social media platforms. This paper made me think about my own discovery of 'purpose', which I still don't think I've found yet. But you know what? I'm okay with that.
University doesn't have to be only for those who know what they want. I was talking to my friends about how university lets you study and explore literally anything you want. What other place in the world or time in your life gives you this amazing opportunity for self-discovery? I have learned so much about myself that I would have never known if I didn't try something and discover it wasn't for me.
What it means to 'work' and find the right career changes all the time. New positions and responsibilities are being invented constantly. I find comfort in the idea that even though I don't have the perfect path laid before me like some of my friends do, that I'll at the very least stumble across one that could lead me anywhere. Good or bad, it's an adventure and I'm in it for the ride.