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Sunday, November 29, 2020

"A Dream Job" by Jordan N.

 

Throughout our lives we are asked this question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Although it sounds so simple, there are millions of possible answers that differ in responses to those you ask. If you were to ask a kid, you would get very interesting answers ranging from a doctor, actor, dancer, musician, or even the first person to explore a new planet. However as kids, we didn’t really understand what jobs were. We only saw the glorified version of popular jobs and automatically assumed that they were these cool professions that looked fun. As we grow older and began to learn a bit more about how life really works, our mindset changes and many of us often abandon our pursuit of our childhood dream jobs to finding a job to simply get by.

 

When we are older, many of us usually forget about those childhood dream jobs to pursue a “realistic” career path. There are many things in life that greatly influence our decision in what line of work we end up pursuing. Pressure from family members is usually the main factor that effects many young people today. We often rely on the support of our family when choosing our future career. When we expect approval and enthusiasm from our parents but are met with criticism and doubt, it sends us into a state of constant paranoia of being a failure. The fear of failing and not being able to make enough money to help ourselves or even our family is also another reason to what drives people away from pursuing their dreams. This fear of the unknown has stopped many people and could possibly do the same for me.

 

As a senior in high school, its kind of intimidating to think about the future and what actions I am taking right now to influence it. Already it feels like I have went through every stage of trying to figure out what I want to do. I have been to multiple college workshops, took quizzes about my personality to figure out what I would be good in, took different classes to see what interests I had that I would be willing to pursue in the future, visited colleges and

researched majors, and yet after all of that I still felt lost. Constantly juggling around different careers that I thought could work out for me to later on forget about became a recurring task. Asking family members on what to do seemed like the right thing until I realized how most of them had the same jobs and are very judgemental of people in our family who choose to do something different from what they think is good. Seeing friends and other people around me seeming to have everything figured out with what college they want to go to, what major they plan to take, and the job they plan to get in also did not help my constant fear of the future. So when the time came for when I had to share what my actual plan was to my family, it was met with mixed emotions but together they all shared this slight hesitation of what they thought about it. My decision to attempt to pursue a career that closely aligned with my interests was met with this type of reaction due to how different it was from what other people in my family are doing. Since it was so different, they did not know how well it paid and its stability compared to theirs which seemed to be their way of determining someone’s success in that job. Despite that they all still said that they would support my choices. Yet I can still tell that they were not too happy with it based off the tone of their voices when they said it, which immediately set off an alarm inside that said I was making a mistake. This whole event soon led to weeks of constant worrying if what I plan to do is good for me. Thoughts of different things going wrong along the way filled my head and constantly tried to persuade me to take the safe route of finding job stability rather than being happy in a career of my choice. Even with all of these fears of things not going according to plan, I have come to the realization that it would be much more preferable to make an attempt with my “dream” job than get stuck somewhere I have no interest at all and slowly grow to hate it day by day.

20 comments:

  1. Wow Jordan, thanks for sharing, this feeling of uncertainty is so relatable, I think more people than will admit it are also scared of what the future holds for them, and whether they should take a risk or play it safe, it's nice to know someone else would rather take that risk!

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  2. I can relate to this story so much. In the beginning of my senior year, I didn’t know what my future major would be. I too, took many career test and talked to my family. I even was going to take a course at Chaffey that helped with career assessment. However, after many quizzes online, I realized that there was a common thread with all of them which was children and medicine. My family also saw how well I worked with kids and how studious I was so with their help I finally found my career.
    For your story I loved how you began at the beginning talking about the differing answers that children have when asked about their careers. I loved the part where you stated: “we only saw the glorified version of popular jobs and automatically assumed that they were these cool professions that looked fun.”This is so true and when reading this I agreed fully. I’m glad that you realized that all that matters in the end is your dreams. I know you’ll do great things because your hearts in the right place. Hopefully your family will come around when they see how happy you are fulfilling your passion.

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  3. This was very relatable especially with dealing with college apps and just always feeling pressure as seniors to have everything figured out. We are so hard on ourselves and what we need is time and patience with ourselves. Thank you for sharing this and I know you'll find a career you genuinely love!! -Brianna Musa

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  4. This was so relatable. I had a similar experience with my mom and till this day is still an issue. Its hard sometimes knowing you want to do something, but know you do not have the full support of your family. I really hope that together we can get through this struggle and we both settle with something that makes us happy. Thank you so much for sharing! -Angela Carnalla

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  5. I really enjoyed this because of how relatable it is. I liked how you showed why it was so difficult for you to settle for something or even have an idea of what you want because of family pressure. In all honesty, people make it seem like we have to have everything figured out by senior year but it's completely okay to still be lost because in the end finding something that you're extremely passionate about takes time and will be worth it.

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  6. I've been going through the same thing. I've always had an idea of what I wanted to do,but everyone would tell me it wasn't "realistic" and soon enough, I began to tell myself the same thing. I always felt judged whenever I shared my career plans because everyone in my family either has the same job or is studying to go into that field of work. Eventually, I came to the same conclusion you did that it's better to try to succeed at my dream job rather than look back at what could have been. Thank you for sharing your story because I know most people are scared for their future even if they are studying for a "realistic" job.

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  7. I really love your story and something about it makes me so glad that you brought up this topic. I feel like a lot of people relate to this, feeling pressured to find a major or are pushed to pursue a career that they don’t want to do but to make their family proud. By sharing this you are helping other people feel that they are not alone in the process, and that there is still time to figure out what to do in the future. I’m glad you found something you wanted to do that will make you happy and not for the sake of others. -Charmaine Luciano

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  8. All of this is so accurate, and it's the unfortunate truth. I had no idea about where I even wanted to apply to college, and I was always so worried about deadlines as well. Counselors try to push us to get into these high and prestigious schools based on what we want to major in, and what's unfortunate is that a lot of people don't know what they want to major in. You really nailed it right on the head. Great work!

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  9. I honestly relate to the struggle of choosing a career and major. I believe that it is difficult to choose a career at such a young age and it can be too much pressure at times. I agree with your conclusion, we should choose a career based off of our true interests, rather than the money/annual income.

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  10. I honestly relate to the struggle of choosing a career and major. I believe that it is difficult to choose a career at such a young age and it can be too much pressure at times. I agree with your conclusion, we should choose a career based off of our true interests, rather than the money/annual income.

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  11. I loved this so much because it was sooo relatable! I feel like we are meant to have our whole life figured out when we are just kids, and nobody talked about how my pressure it is and how stressful it can get. Thanks for putting your story out there because it helped me feel so valid in the way I've been feeling lately.

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  12. I really loved reading your writing. I feel like it relates to so many high school students, including myself. I consistently find myself asking others what major/career path I should take, and still I don't know which one would be right for me. Reading your work made realize that a lot of students go through this and its ok to be one of them.

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  13. I have struggled significantly with this decision as well, especially as of late with the college application process. Your outlook is extremely relatable as you perfectly put into words the burden that so many of us have been feeling. Thank you for sharing! It is reassuring to know that I am not the only one who doesn't have everything figured out.

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  14. I really enjoyed reading this because I think lots of people can relate to it. I like how you touched on the subject of as high school students we are intimidated when we think of the future and I feel the same way. I do have a fear that I will not make as much money to support me and my family in the future. Overall this is very well written because I think many people can relate to this.

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  15. I genuinely enjoyed this piece due to how relatable it was. Especially at this time of our lives, we are faced with many important and difficult choices that will pertain to our futures. We all constantly question if our decisions regarding our futures are the best, but all in all, you should pick something that makes you happy. Great work!

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  16. I definitely struggled with similar things in terms of figuring out what I want to major in. This piece is very relatable to the time many of us are going through right now preparing for college. I am truly glad that you decided to choose the path you feel most comfortable on and wish you the best on your future endeavors!

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  17. This right here, is VERY relatable! I've always had the extreme career paths in mind since I was a kid and still do! Its scary to think of how I might not be successful and end up running a Mcdonalds drivethru for the career I eventually might choose. But, I do really enjoy this piece, because it makes us seniors not feel alone, since its apparent that most people have this same situation too! Great work, I enjoyed :)!

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  18. I really enjoyed reading this piece and I know many others, along with myself have struggled with finding the right career, and major. There are so many options to choose from and the stress of not knowing what career path is right for you is unbearable. I definitely think that following your dream job rather than a job you know you don´t look forward to going to is the right path.

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  19. I completely agree with you. Sometimes it can be hard to decide your path when you are so young. I really enjoyed reading your blog and your writing style.

    Amorette Correa

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  20. You have literally encapsulated how I have felt all my life. Even when I was younger, I picked jobs but I never looked at them from a practical point of view. I just know that I AM SOOOO INDECISIVE. Even now, I don't know what I'm going to do. Am I picking my path on what I want or what I think my parents would be happy with? I LOVE LOVE LOVE this writing because I feel like it completely captures how such big decisions are pushed onto us at such a young age.
    - Michelle Williamson

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