I don’t have all the answers.
And I used to think this was a bad thing.
But I’m learning that it’s okay to not have the answers all the time. I have to remind the perfectionist in me that it is perfectly normal to feel uncertain and apprehensive about the future, and it is certainly okay to admit you’re unsure about something. It doesn’t make you any less of a person, no matter what society may tell you.
I meant to publish this right after the post on my big decision.
Then I got distracted by other posts I wanted to publish. (I blame the chocolate!) So this is a little late; but the subject matter is perpetually relevant, and therefore I wanted to go ahead and post it anyway.
When I grow up…
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Children so easily answer this question. “Oh, I will be a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher.” There’s no wrong answer when you’re a kid. Even if you say you want to be a dinosaur, people will just laugh and think it’s cute.
When I started college, I had no clue what I wanted to “be” in terms of a job. My parents and teachers assured me this was perfectly normal; I’d figure it out. But junior year loomed and still: no clue. I was raking up quite a few Spanish and English Lit courses… maybe I could be an editor? Or a teacher? The only problem was, as much as I excelled in these classes, my heart wasn’t in it.
(I wrote more about my college experience here: My college story.)
I had no passion! I’d look at people who loved their jobs and wonder (in despair!) if it was just not in the cards for me. “Am I destined to spend my life doing something I don’t enjoy? What’s wrong with me that I have no interests?!”
Then came the blog.
I initially started blogging, when I went off to college in Philadelphia (Bryn Mawr), to keep in touch with my friends back in Texas. (Anyone remember when MySpace and Xanga were big?) Then I discovered the food-blog community, and I finally found my passion.
Writing, recipe testing, and even photography…
The point of sharing my story is to reassure those of you who feel like I did that it really is okay to have no idea what your future holds. Things have a way of working out. That’s not to say I believe in fate, and I definitely don’t think a person should sit back and just let things unfold. Be proactive; get out there and immerse yourself in life! Try new things, do activities that scare you, step outside your comfort zone.
Don’t be afraid to make a mistake.
Mistakes are the best way to learn. As Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10000 ways that won’t work.”
Sometimes something you think was a mistake or bad luck will turn out to be a good thing, years later. You never know at the time, because people can’t predict the future. (I don’t care what those fortune tellers say.)
Sure, it’s good to be prepared. But you don’t want to worry so much about planning for the future that you forget to enjoy the present!
Did you always know what you wanted to “be” when you grew up?
Or did it take some time to figure it out? Maybe you’re still trying to figure it out? If you are still searching, try to remember that life is not so much about who you will be in the future as it is about who you are “being” right now.
Jessica says
I love this post, Katie!
When I was in high school, someone asked me what one of my lifelong goals was. I said “to always stay thin.” That sounds superficial & rude, but I never meant it as a judgement on overweight people. What I meant was that I always wanted to make healthy choices in my life so that I would not die of heart disease, colon cancer, diabetes, or another diet-based disease. I was always interested in eating healthy & exercising. Now I see that my passion has always been in those two topics, but it took a while…
Your post reminded me of a horrible lost feeling I had after college. I never really knew exactly what I wanted to do when I was young, but I was sure about many things I did NOT want to do. As far back as I can remember, my parents & grandparents always reminded me of the importance of a good education. By the time I graduated college, I didn’t have passion for anything in particular, but thought I would land a great job simply because I earned a BS. …that didn’t exactly happen. After a year of hating my job & accruing debt, I ended up going back to school for 4 years total, to earn certificates in a field that didn’t even REQUIRE a degree (at the time). It was hard to do something that felt like back-peddling (try explaining to your friends working on an mba or med school that you are taking jr college level classes). Now I work in a financially & emotionally rewarding field I love, & have recently discovered a second passion: blogging about healthy food & working out. I spend time that should be dedicated to studying dreaming up different recipes, making them, posting them, etc. I enjoy it, but it’s a HUGE time suck. If I ever have a baby, blogging will be a challenge.
Tomorrow I will enjoy my lack of obligations & make a batch of your genius blondies!
Lexi says
I LOVE your blog! My husband has a sugar intolerance and I have a dairy intolerance, so our dessert choices are somewhat limited. I sometimes come up with healthy dessert recipes and blog about them, but I’m still pretty new at the whole process. Thanks for sharing your awesome ideas!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Aw thanks, Lexi!
Monica says
Katie,
Your blog is such an inspiration to me!! I’m almost 40 and currently unemployed. I’m a computer scientist with 2 kids who found a passion in “creative baking” about 3 months ago.
I LOVE your recipes. They are the only ones I follow step by step since I’m no good at following recipes.
Probably someday I’ll have a blog of my own, right now my recipes just have a FB page. This week I’ll bake “for profit” for the first time!
My friends have loved your pumpkin brownies and my kids ask for them on a weekly basis. It’s a classic at home already. I loved the chocolate chip blondies too.
My favorite baking ingredient is still quinoa, do you have any original ideas on how to use it?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Aw thanks, Monica :).
I actually am a novice when it comes to cooking quinoa. I think I messed it up a few times, long ago, by adding too much liquid. I need to try it again!
Ellie says
This is pretty late on this post, but reading it helped me realize that I’m not completely weird in feeling kind of confused at my age! I’m 17 and previously wanted to be a baker (for about 4 years!), but becoming vegan has made me question everything. Now I’m facing college considering personal training, nutritionist, vegan dietician, kinesiologist, ect… but to be honest I have no clue! And I guess that’s ok for the time being! (Now let’s just pray for the economy) Thanks Katie!
Fiona @Everyday Spiritual Wisdom says
I always knew what I’d end up doing/being but then that’s part of being psychic I guess. But even though I knew, I resisted it. What kid/teenager doesn’t resist doing what they know they’re meant to do? So instead I seriously planned on being a Solicitor/Lawyer because I was academically minded it made sense. But whilst I was at university I realised that wasn’t right for me and I was also learning to recognise and appreciate what I was really exceptional at, what I’d always been going to be good at – working with energy.
I love how inviting your blog is. It’s so welcoming! Plus obviously I’m a major Chocolate lover who has had to give up dairy (& refused to give up chocolate!) Loving your blog and starting to make your gorgeous recipes 😉
Amy says
How is it I haven’t come across this entry before? Wow, I have a master’s in Civil Engineering and am still not sure what I want to do and never know how to answer that question during an interview. Sometimes I want to quit and be a full-time baker, but my rational side doesn’t want me to. So glad to know there are others like me and that I might eventually get it right one day 🙂
SmilingVivianna says
so glad you wrote this. i am afraid to follow my passion, i would love to do something food related, but then again i think of the bills and think, just stick to what’s making you some money.. maybe one day.
Cynthia says
I visit your blog everyday and also have a passion for healthy great tasting food. I have been looking at some of your older posts and I am so impressed by your candidness and willingness to share so much of yourself with your readers…Maybe this is partly why you have so many :). I am glad that you have been getting bigger and more successful. Many good wishes to you! Thanks for all the hard work 🙂
Janet says
Thanks Katie for your healthy recipes & words of encouragement! I am 51 years old, married for 25 years and a Mom with one son who is in his last year of high school still deciding on which college to attend …Yikes ! I think about what my future will be like as an empty nester. I really like what you said about life is more about who I am right now and making it count, than what the future holds! I Thank God cause He holds our future!
I Enjoy reading your recipes & Blog!
Hannah Spellman says
This is totally inspiring to me, because as a 17 year old junior in high school, with college seriously right around the corner, I have no idea what I want to do. Most of my passions cannot be put into a career, or at least one that I am willing to go to school for. But I loveeee food and chocolate too, and I am hoping that I can put my love of food (even if I am really picky) into some sort of career, and while I probably wont become a great food blogger, this definitely gives me inspiritation!!
Emma says
When I was about 6, I wanted to be a neurosurgeon. Now I can barely spell neurosurgeon.
Then, I wanted to pursue business- I think it is a great way to change the world in a big way! … look what I ended up doing… still giving it a good go! =)