What Do I Do With My Life?

Written by Evelyn from Homespun Honolulu

Everyone has those moments when they think about the one thing they could have done or should have done. I know I have a couple of things that some to mind from the past. “What if I had turned the other way?” or the host of I-shouldn’t-have-done-that’s that we all have.

If you look at the big picture and wait long enough some of those what ifs work their way out. Then you can say, “I made the right choice,” or “Right now I would be…” or something equally enlightening. Over time you may find that you’ve avoided a host of other pains that would have taken their toll on the person you are now. Obviously it might also go the other way and that’s when regret sets in so we only hope for the right decision at the right time!

Personally, I started out with a plan! At the age of ten I had made my decision. I was going to be a veterinarian. There was no question, no doubts and no arguments. No doubts that is until the second year of college chemistry. Ugh! I hadn’t even touched the physics requirement yet and I hated that in high school. Now throw in the labs and caloric calculations of animal feed and I have just about had it! I failed the first exam in animal nutrition class. That’s it, now I have had it!

“What am I going to do?” I cried to my mother on the phone.

“What do you want to do?” was her reply.

College was something I had to complete. I couldn’t leave it. I had to do something! Where were my best grades? Must find those report cards and the grades received to date! Would it be history like both of my parents? Hell no! The best grades were in… English. Okay so I will major in English. I managed to pull a “C” out of that Animal Nutrition course but it wasn’t easy!

But, vet school is what I wanted to do! What am I going to do with an English major? Be a teacher too? Just like my parents? A change in major can cost you an extra year of college if you don’t do it soon enough. After five years and my whole life already in school, I wanted to move on to more than another two years of school in the College of Education!

Now I look at those college choices and know I couldn’t have been happy as a veterinarian. I would not be happy dealing with the human element, the grief of lost pets, and money thrown out the window on vet bills with only a carcass to show for it. I know that sounds crude but I have had to deal with that myself. It hurts! My point here is that dealing with my own pain is easier for me when I don’t have to deal with the pain of others – the other people’s pain hurts more. Would I be making more money? Oh yeah! But I don’t think I would be happy and money can’t fix a person on the inside.

To live life and say you have no regrets would either be a lie, self-denial or just plain arrogant. We all have them guys; get over it. Love yourself and love life – there’s no other one like the one you’ve got! Did I make the right choice where my profession was concerned? I can comfortably say yes. If I hadn’t I wouldn’t be mucking around the blogosphere and talking to you guys. Now THAT would not be acceptable! I’ve finally got a use for that damn English major! I told you these things work their way out if you give them time.

Evelyn from Homespun Honolulu shares thoughts about the past while thinking of the next item to share with her readers, something that represents a unique and different look at Honolulu. Not what you might expect from what you’ve seen or heard from the tourist industry.