How to Find Your Calling When You Have Many Interests

     I considered being a nurse.

     And not only a nurse. A labor and delivery nurse.

     Just over a year ago, in my junior year of high school, I was going back and forth on my major: nursing or English, nursing or English? Nursing? English?

     Which meant I was also vacillating between two seemingly vastly different careers: labor and delivery nursing or writing in the quiet of a hobbit hole for all eternity.

     I have always had many interests. Every now and then, I stumble across an old list that looks like this:

• Mom
• Wife
• Nurse
• Doula
• Writer
• Editor
• Teacher
• Bus driver
• Missionary
• Home decorator

     Needless to say, I have had a lot of interests over the course of my high school career. :)

     Lots of kids in high school are still trying out how their interests that seem so small and varied could ever fit into a career that actually makes money. This post should help.

     I don't remember who it was...maybe some wise counselor at a college I visited...but someone told me: "Nursing and English are actually related; we get that combination more frequently than you would think, even though one is a science and the other a humanity."

     I was so relieved to hear that! This wise person went on to explain that nursing is a very compassionate job, and writing requires an understanding of people.

     And that is how they are connected! Even though writing seems solitary, it has everything to do with people— JUST LIKE NURSING!

     So the key when you have many and varied interests and don't know what career to pursue?

     First, discover how your interests connect.

     This is why that original list is so important. I can look at it and see how they all connect. Even when I wanted to be a bus driver, it was because I wanted to encourage kids going to public school without having to teach them. (That one isn't a joke!)

     Second, go where your greatest strengths and experiences are.

     I could have been a labor and delivery nurse. I could have been a fantastic l+d nurse! But I had never shadowed anyone in a hospital. I had never really enjoyed science, and I certainly didn't want to study it extensively in college. To try and prepare myself for nursing, all I did was refuse to look away from gory scenes in movies and from my own blood being drawn (the latter did not go over very well.)

     For writing, on the other hand, I was more than prepared. English was my best subject, and I always had incredible writing teachers. Even my history teacher said I should be a historian based on a single essay! Additionally, this blog had prepared me from the age of 13. I was already in the habit of publishing regular, if subpar, content outside of an academic context. Writing was something many people complimented me on; I began to believe I was good at. It was also something I enjoyed and knew I could do for the rest of my life.

     Lastly, that old cliche about following passion instead of money (because it's true!)

     One of the primary reasons I was considering going into nursing (besides helping people) was to make a lot of money. I'm not going to lie: it's hard to ignore a nurse's salary. I knew I could help support my family and myself as a nurse. I also knew that I was strong enough academically to get the degree.

     But that old cliche. You've heard it a million times. It comes in many forms, but it's always about not worrying about money. "Do what you're called to do." "Do what makes you come alive."

     It's cliche. But it's true. I didn't need to worry about the money; besides, there are plenty of people who need a good communicator, writer, or content editor/Grammar Nazi.

     And I will be happy to help them out.

     If you are truly passionate about something and develop your craft until you are the best in the business, you can make money with your passion.

~Madeline

What are your interests? Do you think these steps could get you where you want to be? Oh, and my favorite: What do you want to be when you grow up? (I'm looking at you too, adults!)