So college. A time of pure chaos. You’re either built or broken. Some graduate, some don’t. Old friendships die, new relationships prosper. Scary to think about, that college is a gate to a better tomorrow. But as I’ve found in 4 years, college is very much what you make of it. No other time in your life will you have the opportunity to create your identity, so it’s a shame when people reach their senior year and look back only to realize what they missed. People become obsessed with what they didn’t do rather than what they’ve done. So what’s a great way to ensure you do the most with the time that you have? Well the “simple” answer is to find out what you’re passionate about. Yet I’m in college and many have spent a lifetime trying to figure it out. So here are my thoughts:
- Do as much as you can while you can – You see an opportunity? Seize it. Don’t let it pass you by. If you end up hating the opportunity you’re given, take it as a learning experience and as a way to figure out what you don’t want to do.
- Keep a mental checklist of what you enjoy – No, it doesn’t have to start with the passion! Trust your gut, if you love picking up garbage, take a note. Once you have a good list of what you’re involved with, what you enjoy, sit down and take the time to reflect and find common themes.
- Don’t let others influence what you enjoy – If you like playing video games, great! If someone says it’s a waste of time, does it really matter? That’s their opinion and your experience shouldn’t be dependent on what they say. I, for example, am a comic book geek among many things. If you mention super heroes, I’ll light up and go on and on about it. Embrace every aspect of yourself and try to pull the good from the “bad”!
- Go with the flow – Be open to new experiences! Don’t say no, start saying yes! You never know what you might enjoy until you try it! So be brave and try to think “This didn’t happen as expected, but it ended up being better than expected”! You don’t have to enjoy every aspect of the adventures you go on, but do your best to pick out pieces of the experience you enjoyed. This will help narrow the search!
- Build Genuine relationships with others – Surprise! This may seem out there but it’s true! Make true, genuine friends. Questions you should be asking yourself: “Who do I hang out with?”, “Why do I hang out with this people?” and “How do my friends make me feel?”. The whole is better than the sum of the parts! Don’t forget to ask your friends about their passions as well!
So there you have it! My five tips on how to discover your passions! Hope it helps and thanks for reading!
To the Moon 
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