Marathon to The Forefront of My Mind

I started this blog because I am in the middle of a quarter-life crisis. I'm "living" the life: interning at a top engineering company, working with fantastic people, getting credit for school, residing in the PNW, and banking a hefty paycheck. But several weeks ago I became seriously unhappy-- I never really loved my internship, but all of a sudden I realized that I couldn't see a sliver of engineering in my future. I don't want to be in a lab or sit in a cubicle. I don't want to crunch numbers or pore over lab reports! *Cue pounding of fists and buckets o' tears*

So I did what any person born in the 90's would do when they're stuck. I Google'd for answers. I tried different searches looking for relatable stories:

"engineer turned into graphic designer"
"engineer into activist"
"engineer who believes rolling in dough isn't living"

The gist is, I shook up that search button like it was a Magic 8 Ball. Then I found it. A genuine article. A woman who was going through what I was going through. I've been reading this every morning before work...

http://workawesome.com/career/the-importance-of-doing-what-you-love/

Stephanie Lewis is a chemist by degree and an artist by nature and, like many of us, she strolled down the path of practicality. "Wouldn't I make more money if I went into the sciences instead of being a starving artist?" In education there are the subjects we naturally gravitate towards and then there are ones we like because we're "good at it." With the magic of the human mind, being "good" at something is cooked into a career. You're good at math? You're an engineer. You're good at chemistry? You're a pharmacist. You're good at arguing? You're a lawyer. Set it and forget it!

The further you stroll down this path, the further your passions trail behind. You're ideas, thoughts, and priorities are all running the marathon of life. Everyday concerns (family, friends, health, etc.) tend to stick around the middle of the pack-- once in a while they'll push up to the front of your brain for attention or trip-- inciting a hiccup of stress. But for some of us Career or Education like to keep a steady pace up front. We dedicate a good chunk of our Body and Mind nurturing Career and Education, exhausting our energy before we get to the stragglers-- those Little Loves and Hidden Passions. Tired and forgotten, they chill and mosey at the back of your mind until Body and Mind realize they've been out of sight (out of mind?). Thus, Passion is rejuvenated and heads to the front. Hopefully, Passion ends up running with Career and Education-- preferably holding hands and skipping, but at the moment they're vying for The Forefront of my mind. My thoughts have been racing. I don't know how to put them back on track and it's exhausting my Mind and Body.

This blog isn't just for me. It's for others out there who Google answers for their future. It's for those who believe in doing what you love, but have fallen into the complacency of a steady career. I don't want to leave them with just one post preaching the importance of doing what you love-- I want to grab hold of that idea(l) and live by it. I hope that this documentation of my thinkings will help those I know get to know me on a more... thought-out level. Most of all, I hope this documentation will serve as the foundation for discussion amongst Me's and the rejuvenation of all our Passions and Careers.