One of the most common questions I am asked by people is “what do you want to do when you are older?”

This question always stumps me. I’ll often answer with something like “oh, I don’t really know” or “I’m interested in a lot of things”. But the truth is, how am I to know what I want to be when I grow up, if I don’t even know what I want to do now!

This is actually something that has been on my mind for a while now. You see, a few years ago, when I was in Year 7, I thought I had it all figured out. I thought I wanted to go away to John Curtin or Perth Modern or some amazing art school. I thought I wanted to pursue a career in the visual arts. I didn’t want to perform or dance, I didn’t like writing, I just wanted to be accepted into somewhere bigger!

Now, I’m not sure I want to leave… The other night, I was tossing up the good and bad of going away to a school in Perth. Turns out, there are more things here that I would miss than the new things and opportunities I would have in Perth. I would miss the beach. I would miss the quiet. I would miss the freedom. I would miss the safety to walk around town by myself. I would miss a lot of things.

Now, I’m not even sure if the visual arts are what I want to create a future from. The last two years of the Zest Fest have given me so many opportunities and have taught me so much. Now, I do want to perform, I like writing and journaling, I like dancing, I like being in a small school.

Recently, I’ve also discovered a lot of new things that I am really quite keen to have a go at. Things like slam poetry and puppeteering and photography. I have always loved the arts, and I think I am just starting to discover how diverse that area is. All of my new interests are somehow connected to or involve the arts, whether they be completely ordinary or extremely unusual.

I guess, the lesson I’ve learnt – and that I’m still learning, is that your interests change with time. I thought I was set, I thought I knew what I was interested in and what I wanted to do. But, I really don’t know at all.

Yesterday, I came across a quote by Fabienne Fredrickson.

I have to disagree with what she is saying here. Just because I don’t know what I want, doesn’t mean I haven’t already succeeded at life.

I don’t really care that I don’t know what I want to do at the moment. But I don’t see that as a failure.

I am happy with where I am right now. I am content with the way things are at school and home. I love where I live. I love that I have the opportunity to try as many new things as I want until I reach my heart’s desire and finally find out exactly what I want to do. I don’t know what I want, but I am, happy, and I’m enjoying life! That…that is what I call a success.

This morning, I came across another quote, this time by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I thought that was beautiful!

Maybe you do have a destination, or a goal that your heart is set to achieve, and that is excellent! Maybe you don’t know what you want to do right this second. It doesn’t matter!

Life is a journey. It’s something that needs exploring. It should take you places that you never thought you would go! Show you things you never thought you would see and give you opportunities you never thought you would experience.

Well, those are my thoughts on “life choices”. Let me know yours!

Yours faithfully

Grace.