The scent of sweet summer barely lingers in the cool night air as I stare aimlessly at my computer. Unfortunately, internship recruiters don’t think so…I barely have bid adieu to summer freedom and here we go again. So it’s time to dust off that résumé and get crackin’.
One of the most challenging tasks for me is the mere issue of trying to figure out what stays and what goes. More importantly, what is even in the running. The number of extra curricular options available during the first week of school is pretty much as close to “heart attack overwhelming” as it gets. There is that medical school prep club and that awesome non-profit that works to raise money for kids in Uganda along with that a cappella group that is famous for its high notes. Whatever your passion may be, there is some way to bring it to life on a college campus. My biggest problem was not trying to find my passion, but rather trying to narrow it down. It would just be so much easier if my future job would just spell out EXACTLY what it wanted (and if you decide to future employers, you know how to reach me!). Unfortunately, the art of decision-making is something that I have been forced to do on my own much more often recently. As of now, it’s mostly the furious battle between chocolate/churros and paella, but every decision has its pros and cons.
In high school, my life was centered around a need to get involved in all that I could. I wouldn’t call it résumé builder’s syndrome, but it was just a need to feel occupied, so I knew that my future would have options. Nonetheless, I was that girl who was chanting outside the cafeteria or hustling you for the upcoming fundraising effort. The cause: well I didn’t discriminate. If it had a purpose to better my community, I was there. Rain or shine, 4 am or 11 pm. Though I thoroughly enjoyed each activity I was involved in, I soon realized that my passions have limits. By the end of my senior year, I was burnt out. I was burnt out, confused and still had no idea what my “focus” was besides what seemed fun to me. Little did I know at the time, that’s all I really did need to know.
When making my way to Scripps College, I knew that if there is one thing that I had to do, it was focus. PRIORITIZE specifically. I was going to limit my activities to a few I was truly passionate about and throw myself into them until I was so consumed that it would be hard to breath. That’s what I was told I should do at least. Leadership is always a strength to any employer, they say. I would like to believe them, whoever they are. But what was it that I was to “lead” in. It was then that Ted Talks came to the rescue. If you have yet to browse this phenomenal website, I have just found your replacement to re-runs of Jersey Shore. This particular video made things a little more blurry, but significantly more energized:
Architects don’t just slave over terrifying physics problems? Interesting…and even more hard to believe. This particular video, along with many others from Ted, made me realize that a career can be molded, twisted, turned and sculpted. Not only a career, but even the ideas that bring us to our final career destinations. College is a time to experiment with ideas and let creativity take the reigns. So my words of wisdom: don’t lead for the sake of leading; lead with a purpose. As much as I was told that there is an importance in each decision you make during your college career, I constantly have to remind myself to never be confined to my predetermined route. Dust off what seems to be impossible and build your own design.