Finding what you want to do in life
Holly Cooke,
1st Oct 2017
Tags:
Life
Blog
Dreams
Education
Individuality
Success
Work
Watching the special features or interviews about a film or TV series are something I’ve loved to do since I was a child. Growing up I spent hours making my own magazines, and writing stories.
Being creative is something that has always come naturally to me and is part of who I am. It's ultimately where I think I’m headed in life too.
However being a “creative sort” as I have been labelled many times, never lent itself to a traditional career, or being academically gifted.
I definitely was not the girl who got all A* at school, or the type to be considered top of the class. I can’t run fast or play football well, or at all really, PE definitely was not my subject at school. I’m not the girl who could do a maths sum or equation at lightning speed in my head. I still count on my fingers when adding up. I also cannot draw to save my life, and was once told by my year 11 art teacher that my drawing of a skull looked like Picasso had drawn a pile of poo. Yep, he actually said that.
We all have things that we are good at and love, and we all have things that we are not so good at, or frankly, we suck at.
We all have things that we are good at and love, and we all have things that we are not so good at, or frankly, we suck at.
Society teaches us that being extremely intelligent, or athletic, or being stereo-typically beautiful, having lots of money, or being famous, equals success. That being “pretty” or “popular” or a “child prodigy” are the be all and end all.
But we weren’t all born to have a crazy high IQ, or to be the next David Beckham, or David Bowie. Some people couldn’t care less about makeup, how many Instagram followers they have, or how fast they can swim a length of the pool. But, for some people that stuff really matters, those things really float their boat and is what they love. And that’s ok, because that’s how they’re made, how they were designed. It's the way they were meant to be.
Whatever it is, go for it, because you were wired and created to love what you love.
Whether you love maths and want to be a maths teacher, or cars are your thing and you want to be a mechanic. Whether singing is your passion and so you want to be on the West End or perform at Glastonbury, or you’re a total film buff and want to be the next Christopher Nolan. Or maybe you just want to work outdoors and be a gardener or postman. Whatever it is, go for it, because you were wired and created to love what you love, and be passionate about what you’re passionate about. Faking it or copying somebody else is only going to make you unhappy and not fulfil the huge amounts of potential that God has placed inside you.
Society has a very small, often traditional box of careers, lifestyles and accomplishments it deems as successful and the vast majority of us may never find ourselves anywhere near that tiny box.
I am definitely not going to be the next Steve Jobs. First off I’m not that intelligent, and secondly I know absolutely nothing about computers. But maybe one day I could be the editor or founder of my own magazine, or be a stylist for a film.
Every single person has dreams; things that make them happy and bring the biggest smile to their face, or things that they’re just really, really, really good at. You don’t have to get all A*s or grade 9’s at school, or be the most popular girl in your class. You don't have to be the employee of the month every month to fulfil your potential and follow your dreams.
Some people’s dreams and talents have nothing to do with academia or being the best at something, and that’s great, because that’s them.
Some people’s dreams and talents have nothing to do with academia or being the best at something, and that’s great, because that’s them.
Being you and being true to yourself is often the biggest challenge, but it can bring the biggest rewards, or simply the biggest smiles.
So whether you’re the “creative sort” that can’t draw (like me) or the maths wiz that has beaten every adult you know at chess; build your own box of what you view as successful and then smash the roof off it and reach for the stars.
Embrace your quirks, love the random “things” that make you, you and ignore that teeny weeny box telling you what you and your life should look like.
None of us are the same, that’s how God designed the world, and designed you. Embrace your quirks, love the random “things” that make you, you, and ignore that teeny weeny box telling you what you and your life should look like. You don’t need to have 15 A*s or an exceptional 1st to be a winner at life, (although that is pretty cool).
No-one is you and that is your superpower.
