Dear 18 year old Karen,
BREATHE!
It will all be ok, you don’t need to have all the answers, the master plan, it is normal to be unsure and confused. The Leaving Cert year has arrived, CAO forms are to be filled and it seems everyone knows “what they want to be”….
Trust that little niggle inside that longs for adventures and the unknown, ambitions that are not career focused but desire life experiences. It does not mean that you are thick, or that you will never be successful.
It will seem scary that you are the only one of your friends not going to university, you get ok points and an offer, but you know deep down accepting the offer is to fit in with your friends, to appease your loving but fearful parents. How can you commit to a four year college programme when you don’t even know what career it is you want?!
You give yourself a year, travel, become a better more grounded version of yourself and you realise that perhaps, a job/career is what you do, not who you are. So when they ask “what do you want to be?”…answer honestly and with courage….”I want to be a kind and compassionate person, I want to live a fulfilling life and want to go on a journey with my work, that grows and changes as my life does”
You will study, not only after your year break but for the rest of your life. Your career is your passion, your work as a holistic therapist sees you open a business, travel the world, become a teacher and volunteer with amazing charities. You don’t get the Sunday Blues, or endure Hump Day, or wish for the weekend.
You may not have letters after your name, but you have an epic story in your heart. You have a lust for life. Long may it last!
The Mindful West run is a 240km run from Greystones to Galway in aid of a Lust for Life and CMRF Crumlin. If you enjoyed this story please donate to the run here.