If you ask any of my friends what my one true passion is, you’d probably get one of two answers: either “soccer” or “science.” To some people that may make me sound like your average well-rounded student, but the truth is that those two sides of myself are at near-constant war with each other. One day I’ll rearrange my homework schedule around soccer practice and the next I’ll stay home to read astronomy books rather than venture outside. Neither passion feels like I’ve allowed it to begin developing fully.
I think that the real battle is being fought between my realistic side and my passionate side. I’m decent enough at math that I could try to go into physics or another field for a later career, and I do love learning and experimenting with the sciences. On the other hand, I’ve always said that if I had the time to train for a professional soccer career, if I could be paid to play the sport that I love, then I would. As important as academic subjects are to me, the idea of leaving competitive play forever after high school is almost unthinkable.
So what do I focus my attentions on now, in this very moment? The realistic future of the scientist or the relentless dream of the athlete? That’s something I have yet to fully figure out. I know that I don’t have an imminent career in soccer—so do I let myself try to excel now while I can? Or do I look firmly to the future and work towards an education and later a job in a field that I love?
I guess these are the questions on every high schooler’s mind as we hurtle towards senior year, or college applications, or whatever the next hurdle to clear may be.
Good luck to us all.
Good luck to us all.
Yes, good luck! Those are not easy choices, and choices of the sort you're grappling with seem to keep coming up as life goes on. I will say that most of the time it's not entirely an either/or question. Though it may be impossible to choose both soccer and some branch of science both at their highest and most competitive levels, there are other levels in both cases. Whichever of your passions you end up making your higher priority, I hope you'll continue to pursue and enjoy the other in some way. Great first post, Lilly! Very well written and engaging.
ReplyDeleteLilly, truer words could not be said. I think at some level we're all pressured to make choices that feel impossible to make. There is a cultural expectation for us to make "smart decisions" but sometimes being "smart" isn't what it's cracked up to be at all. I think though that you are lucky that your practical aspiration is one you're just as passionate about. My grandmother told me that in her day there wasn't the emphasis on "doing what you love" that there is now. She said that people took jobs to pay the bills and kept up their hobbies as a release.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to go into a big political and philosophical rant about this mentality and the current one because it's your blog after all, but I do believe that whatever and whenever you make the tough decision, there will be something that you love to be your relief and you'll NEVER lose that love or passion in your life.
This is a great point Lilly! I agree that these choices are not easy. I also have been thinking about my interest in the sciences and careers regarding those. However, every time I think about the future, I realize that Track may not be in it. I look forward to running and the competition, so imagining life without Track is very difficult. Though I'm not very skilled in predicting the future, I think that we should hold on to both passions! :)
ReplyDeleteVery aggravating at times. I go for the "let's follow all of my passions" mentality, and at this point in life it's probably alright, but I'm starting to feel like I'll have to give up on one thing to be up to pace and not falling behind on another. But, having such a short range feels like a boring life...
ReplyDeleteThis post really resonated with me. It is difficult to parse through our interests and cherry-pick a select few, especially when we must live with the choices we make now for the rest of our lives. I often choose to ignore these difficult questions and hope that they will answer themselves. The fact that you are willing to think about and face your battles head on is admirable in itself, regardless of what you decide to do. Hopefully we can all figure things out together with little emotional stress!
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