Do what makes you happy

Published: Saturday, December 4, 2010

Updated: Friday, December 4, 2009 12:12

The phrase "do one thing everyday that makes you happy," may seem difficult to achieve but, if you take the time to do one thing that makes you happy the results will be amazing. For myself, it isn't a daily task of making myself happy but everything leading up to this point, but be cautioned it can all be lost and seem not worth it.

Ever since I was 8 years old I wanted to be a television anchor and throughout high school, middle school and presently college at CFCC I have continued my education in the journalism/telecommunication fields.

I have put countless hours, and effort into my desired major and upon getting accepted to UF in early October I began to question if that was what I wanted to do.

A dear friend of mine questioned the same thing last year after her first year of Pharmacy College at UF. In a similar predicament spending countless hours in the field, between internships, externships, etc. she wasn't sure she wanted to major in Pharmacy anymore.

Questioning something you've wanted for so long is normal because it means one of two things. One, you have reached a point where this goal is within a reasonable grasp of yours so it seems impossible or unreal. Two, maybe you do not want to pursue that any longer because you have put so much into it, and you aren't getting the return you expected.

When I began having these thoughts, I had too much going through my mind. Why am I questioning myself? Where did this come from and why?

I resolved it by thinking of possible alternatives, and came up with a compromise with myself.

I weighed out my options and thought thoroughly of what I wanted for myself.

My younger brother was diagnosed with dyslexia a couple of years ago and constantly struggles through school. This persuaded me to look into speech pathology and tutoring.

At orientation for UF I listed my minor as speech pathology, and even though I haven't taken any classes related to this or psychology, what I do know about the topics fascinates me. Ultimately, I want to do something that makes me happy and is interesting, and that is speech pathology.

However, I may not be able to obtain that because I am currently struggling in my statistics class. I have not done this poorly in my life and I am trying. At this point in order to pass the class I must get an 85 or better on everything from here on out. That sounds reasonable but not when my averages are about half that.

So here is my dilemma, if I do not pass my math class, I do not graduate. If I do not graduate, I do not go to UF. If I do not go to UF, who is to say I'll ever be accepted again, therefore, what will I do beyond that point?

Insert motivational quote here. The reality of it is I am the one in charge of my grade and only me and if this predicament is in charge of my future, well some things have to change. I refuse to let this little bump in the road stop me from achieving what I want to do.

It is very easy to become side tracked by issues like these, so do not let them control the decisions in your life. We're faced with daily challenges and struggles but it's up to you to make the best of it and make yourself happy.

It's evident that life doesn't come with a manual and we don't always learn from our mistakes, partially because it's more fun to do it again. However, at the end of the day you only have yourself so do what's right for you.