Who I Am

1. MY CAREER POSSIBILITIES

2. So I’m supposed to pick a career… I still have two
years of high school left and I’m supposed to know what I
want to do with my life. It’s sort of absurd to me that I,
who can barely even pick an outfit for a single day without
doubting my choice, am being told to choose what I want
to do for the rest of my life. I know that people will say
that I don’t actually have to decide now and that is true to a
certain extent. The problem is, though, that I still have to
be sure that I take the right courses, get the right grades,
get the best training, and pin down the perfect references
(starting now) for a career that I haven’t even chosen…
Somehow, I am supposed to be able to blast off into a
career mode when I still haven’t even driven a car.

3. In a way it makes sense that I should at least be
able to pick a few careers and decide on one when
the time is right. My problem is that time changes
things… Time changes communities. Time
changes universities. Time changes programs,
needs, opportunities… Me… Time changes
everything.

4. Some things that really make choosing a career difficult are
TIME,
CHANGE,
& CHANCE

5. What if over time I change my mind? What if I decide
that I hate my career? What if I end up regretting my
decisions and hating my life? What if I choose a career
that burns out in the future? Or, what if my career
becomes a completely dead end job? What if I spend
my life focused on one career and then I’m fired with no
fall back, family, or life? What if I do my job incorrectly
and end up hurting or killing someone? What if I can’t
handle my responsibilities?

6. What if I really just suck at my job?

7. There is no way to know that the job I choose will be
a good choice…

8. I am sixteen years old. I like to think of myself as mature. I like to
think that I know exactly what I’m doing. I really like to seem
confident, strong, intelligent, and realistic. Honestly, I have a hard
time wrapping my head around all of the “what ifs”. Frankly, for
lack of a better term, they scare the bejeezus out of me! I am
expected to be able to take a huge leap of faith, but that is
incredibly hard to comprehend when I have been sheltered my
whole life by my family, my school, my country…

9. I guess I have an idea of what I want to do. The thing
is, I want to do so many things! That’s where the
problem of time rears it’s head. Change becomes a
reality when I realize how drastically my life will change
when I finally decide how to make my life work. Chance
is scary. There is always the chance that I will crash and
burn. The only way I can succeed is if I am willing to
fail. I have a lot on my plate. I have huge goals and the
wager is massive.

10. With such big dreams and so many paths to follow, it’s hard
to be realistic. I have to risk a lot to be able to pull off
everything that I endeavor to do. What I want to do isn’t a
one track career. I want to be able to bring in everything
that I am passionate about. I want to study and to perform
what I love. Somehow, I still have to manage to pay rent,
buy food, get transportation, get training , sleep, and just
live. Despite all of the risks I have to take; despite the fact
that people may think I’m stupid; despite the fact that I
may end up just throwing away everything I’ve worked
for… I’m not going to be realistic… I am not going to
settle for some desk job that is safe and secure. I’m not
going to be a housewife and live through my husband’s
achievements or my children.

11. I’m not going to be a doctor.
I’m not going to save the world.
Those things are not who I am…

12. So, who am I then?

13. Well, I’m not completely sure yet… In hindsight, I’m only
sixteen. If I knew exactly who I was already, my journey
would be over… If I knew everything, there’d be no reason
for me to even be here. I’m not be sure who I am, but I
know who I have the potential to become. I know what I
have inside me. No one knows the person growing inside
me better than I do.

14. I can tell you these things:
I am super independent. I usually don’t need any help or
advice, but if you do, I’ll be there. If you confide in me, I’ll
hold your secrets close to my heart. If I see something that
I don’t understand, you can be certain that I will find out
exactly what information I lack.

15. In hard times, I will stand strong and shelter those that
need protection. I would run through storm and fire or
fight death and disease with my bare hands in a pit of
vipers in the depths of Tartarus rather than betray or
abandon those I love. (Sometimes, I get a little absorbed
in the moment too, in case you hadn’t noticed.) Be sure
that my intentions are true; I strive for passion and
spontaneity to be great parts of my heart. I am
indescribably stubborn and I am very much an advocate
of speaking one’s mind. I will stand my ground if
something in unjust or dishonest. I would like to believe
that I am not naïve, but it’s hard not to be when you grow
up in a world that where everything is on a silver
platter…

16. I am not passive and I will not settle for less than is
right.
I will not do what is easiest.
I will not accept the way things are. If I believe
something needs to change, I will make it change. I
always find a way.

17. So, I suppose that I could be a secretary or a housewife
or a doctor or even a super hero if I wanted to…

18. Anything is possible if only we are willing to make it so.

19. There are many things I am willing to do. I am not,
however, willing to be mediocre. I am not willing to
settle and accept the way of things. If I am not going to
live the way that I want to… If I am not going to do
what I love…

20. What’s the point?
Of anything?

21. What do my accomplishments mean? What does settling say
about what I stand for? I don’t know who I am quite yet, but I
know what I believe in. I know what I stand for. I know the life
that I want to live. I know that my path isn’t going to be easy. I
know that I might not get to do everything I endeavour to do. I
know that I am going to fight for the right to do it all and I am
going to do it all well…

22. My plan:
Audition for every dance opportunity I possibly can.
Audition for Broadway.
Act in as many movies and theatre productions as I possibly can.
Join a dance company like Shaping Sound.
Work with as many world renowned choreographers as possible.
Perform all over the world.
Go to university and study sports medicine and dance.
Open a dance studio and athletic therapy clinic.
Become certified in RAD Ballet, Acrobatics, Yoga, and Pilates.
Create an award winning team of dancers that compete all over Canada and
USA.
Raise my studio’s children to be confident, smart, and outgoing.
Inspire kids and adults alike with motivational speeches.
Open an animal shelter.
Write a book about my life and my accomplishments.

23. So, that’s probably not the kind of career plan I was supposed to
think up… See the thing is, your life shouldn’t be interrupted by
your career. Your life and career should be much closer. You
should live your career the way you live your life: with passion,
love, and determination. You should think before you act, but
you should not avoid the action. You should be curious, but
thoughtful. You should be outspoken, but never ignorant. I
believe that life is what you make it. We have very little time to
do everything that we want to do. That is why I will not choose
two career paths. I will choose a starting place and I will jump on
every opportunity that I find along the way.

24. I will conquer the world. I will never accept defeat.
I will not be ordinary.
I will not settle.