Roselyn Romero

As little kids, we incessantly clung on to a dream – a dream that seems like such a far stretch, but is attainable through determination, wit, and pure ardor.

Being completely honest, journalism was NOT my first choice growing up. I used to dream of becoming an astronaut, a nurse, a lawyer, an engineer, and a veterinarian (in other words, my dreams were all over the place). But I mostly grew up gravitating toward books written by James Dasher, J.K. Rowling, Veronica Roth, Stephanie Meyers, and Neil Gaiman, so naturally, I yearned to become an author. (Just a little FYI: By no means am I discouraging anybody from becoming an author throughout this blog post. You do you, boo!)

I read books voraciously, pondering over the words of classics and fiction literature and being fascinated by the way one can string words together so effortlessly. Being an avid reader, choosing English literature as a potential college major was easy for me because I was so familiar with it already.

However, I started thinking further about English literature, and how much I was willing to learn and sacrifice to become an author.

I began conducting research on the ins and outs of becoming an author. As I continued in my research, I began pursuing leadership positions within the extracurricular activities in which I am involved, which led to my passion for public speaking.

The adrenaline rush I felt whenever I stood in front of large crowds and spoke my mind resonated within me. I fell in love with the thrill of speaking – especially improvising – and being creative with the words I verbalized. Whatever I spoke, I created. Whatever I told, people listened and digested the information. It was a power that intrigued me and allowed me to blossom outside of my comfort zone very quickly.

In middle school, I was a part of my school’s very first broadcast journalism team, in which I excelled. I was also a participant in twelve spelling bee competitions. It didn’t take me a while to notice that public speaking was an asset of mine that was worth nurturing – something that could grow into something greater.

As a junior in high school, I then decided that I wanted to quit my school’s track and field team (for personal reasons) and instead join the newspaper crew. Although this decision was completely uncalled for – one that I did not anticipate making at all – this was one of the greatest choices I have ever made throughout high school.

I soon discovered that my passion lied in not just English, but also the delivery of the language and the pursuit of truth. Every interview I conducted and every story I wrote gradually led me to where I am today – an aspiring journalist (and amateur blogger, of course).

In my opinion, finding your passion consists of three main factors:

1. Something you’re (relatively) good at
2. Something you love doing, such as a hobby
3. Something you can teach to someone else

Once you find an activity in which you can achieve all three criteria, you’ve pretty much discovered your passion (aka what you should do for the rest of your life).

However, remember that you don’t have to find your passion right now if you aren’t sure what it is yet – it’s perfectly OK to feel confused and overwhelmed by the multitude of career choices out there! Take me as an example: I love English and literature, but it wasn’t until my junior year that I decided that I want to pursue journalism as a career.

One piece of advice I would give to people trying to find their passion is to jot down a few activities they enjoy doing in their spare time. It can be social media, makeup, video games, reading books, drawing, photography, etc.

Typically, whatever activities you spend the most time doing (deliberately – not activities you are forced to do, such as homework) are the activities in which you should probably pursue as a future career. For instance, if you enjoy producing videos with your friends (even if you don’t post them on YouTube), then you should consider becoming a movie producer or director. If you can braid hair in less than 30 seconds and enjoy doing your friends’ hairstyles for school dances, then you should think about being a hairdresser or stylist. The possibilities are endless!

I hope this helps you in finding your passions in this chaotic world filled with endless opportunities. Remember that you are destined to do something, even if you can’t figure it out yet!