Young kids are frequently asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” By the time you get to high school, people assume you have figured it out.  I have always been intrigued by this question.

I’ve considered many different career paths. Surgeon (thanks Grey’s Anatomy), author, psychologist, Behavioral Analysis Unit; FBI agent (thanks Criminal Minds), and artist (thanks mom). In other words, I’ve been all over the road. I’ve never felt a strong affinity towards one career path, and stuck with it. But as I get older, the question is no longer a hypothetical, as I start thinking about college.

As I struggle to answer this question, I must first confront and even bigger one. What is the meaning of life? I couldn’t tell you. After all, I am only fifteen years old. What I do know each human is put on this earth for a reason and it is up to them to live up to figure out what that role is. For me, I know whatever I do, I hope it results in meaningful and lasting change.

With age, I realize more and more my passion is helping people. There are many ways to do this. I love meeting new people, talking to them, and hearing their story. I find it fascinating that with over seven and a half billion people in this world, each person is different, unique, facing their own obstacles, every day.

If we are all so alike, why is it so hard for people to show compassion to one another? I’ll tell you. Lack of perspective. Ever heard the phrase, “step into someone else’s shoes”? This common phrase is used by many people, but a lot harder than it sounds. It is hard to consider that the person at work, who missed a deadline, didn’t just forget it, they had a fight with their wife the night before and was unable to complete it. The person at school, who bullies you, parents are getting divorced. The man at the dry cleaner, who was less than friendly, is depressed. By no means are these problems an excuse to treat people badly, but if people learned to have more patience, the world would be a friendlier place.

How does that relate to what I want to do? I want to become a psychologist and author. I hope to spread my ideas through literature. Literature is a amazing way to spread a story or an idea. I have always loved language arts.  The more I learn, the more my passion grows.

Mental health is an area that intrigues me. It’s sad that so many people suffer in silence. Why is this the case? Society has always been pushing people to fit a cultural norm. For instance, for much of the last century - women were rarely seen as anything more than a wife, mother or housekeeper. Kindness and nurturing were expected traits, whereas men were expected to demonstrate their masculinity by being tough whose primary role was to provide for his family.

Newsflash, not everyone is the same. Thus, people trying to fit these cookie cutter ideas of what men and women should be, have lead people to be unhappy. Struggling. Mental health is equally important as physical health. But has always been looked down upon. I’ve always felt like talking to people, about the way you feel, always makes you feel better. I would love to professionally help people on a greater scale, open up to me, and work through their obstacles. As a psychologist, I hope to help people deal with emotional issues and challenges on an individual level.

Not everyone has the resources to go to a psychologist, or feels like that is the best thing for them. Literature, both fiction and nonfiction, is a powerful way to share a message. Reading has always inspired me, and I hope one day I can do the same for someone else. As an author, I hope to start a conversation that changes the stigma associated with mental illness on a worldwide level.

This paper, as all over the place as it is, demonstrates my thought process, and how I got to finding a career path for myself. I have always been one to say “do what you love, love what you do”.  Through your work, you have the power to make the world a better place. So choose wisely.