I had a good salary, but no excitement, I had a good diploma, but no exciting experiences, I had myself but I was about to lose myself, for taking a job out of fear and not out of passion.
It took me a year to realise that my path is not to the average path of a normal business graduate. Right after graduation, I was really lucky to get the interview, and started working as a trade manager. It was a good start for someone who has just started his career. But as time goes by, I felt that something was missing, working continuously all day on something that I was not passionate about, I was not driven by any internal choice, I was driven by the status, the comfort. I was doing what I am supposed to, not what I truly wanted to do. I was unhappy and had to reflect on my own situation to find my real purpose in life.
After deep thought, I discovered that the security of a decent job in my local city, was threatening my youth and liveliness, I had more energy to give, plans to achieve, and insights to explore. My ambition was chocked out on such environment, which led me to ask so many questions. I started looking for the right answers, reflecting my own existence and purpose in life. I randomly found a quote that summed up everything:
Sometimes, you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes in the middle of nowhere you find yourself.
We often celebrate graduation to appreciate those long night of study, the sacrifices and the success we feel when holding that piece of paper, that famous diploma. It is like we crossed that winning line, we have made it to the top, we reached that final destination. We won, no need to worry about tomorrow because it only takes that famous diploma to get that stable job in the market, that good salary, get married and settle down. That was the case of so many of my colleagues, who took a decent job and chose to settle down right after their graduation ceremony.
It was all different for me, the day I graduated, I had a mixed feelings of excitement, fear and confusion. Mainly because I was aware that it was the start of something new, something big. As in fact, and starting from tomorrow, I will have to work on my life diploma, a much more challenging destination. During the school of life , you get to control how many years you’d like to study before graduating, results will be based on how much skills, experiences, and languages you’ve built, they will be mainly related to the environment you have chosen to grow in, the mentors you’ve been looking up to, and the quality of motivation, research and self-development you are willing to develop during your learning process.
Today, I chose an unpaid international volunteering experience in Hungary as a way to find my path, because jobs only fill your pocket, but only experiences fill your soul. Today I chose providing value on a country I barely speak its language, over the luxury, my stable job once gave me. Today, I recognise how valuable it is to be in a challenging environment, making you feel alive, young and open to an endless amount of possibilities. Today I chose to be happy, by taking responsibility on my actions, and chasing the unknown, my true destiny.
From a girl on the other side of the planet.