I went to college as a journalism major and if you would have asked me what my dream job was upon graduation, I would have told you that I wanted to work for United Airlines and write for their magazine. At that point, I had never even flown on an airplane let alone read Hemispheres but somehow, I had it in my mind that United was a good company and their corporate communications was the job for me.
When I was recently on a United plane, I thought about this and all the ways my life would have been different if student activities had not impacted my career plans. I don’t regret the detour, but the nostalgia ignited a spark that now has me doing some freelance writing for the local lifestyle magazine. It’s not Hemispheres, but it has provided a surprisingly rewarding outlet for the writing bug that has been latent (apparently 3761 blogs don’t count!).
Think about the hobbies you loved or the work you thought you would do when you were younger. There’s a reason you gravitated in that direction and if you have veered off the path — even if your current course brings you happiness — see if you can’t find a way to incorporate an aspect of the earlier dreams into your life. Whether as a volunteer, hobby, or side hustle, rekindling those initial career interests can again infuse joy at this stage of life. As with my article-writing, it may be for only a few hours per month but still add a pleasurable new dimension to your overall slate of activities.
