At some point in your high school development, you may have been told to follow your dreams\u2014but it can be a challenge to know exactly how to do that.\u00a0It\u2019s easy to get lost in the ambient noise\u00a0and forget how to listen to\u00a0your own instincts.
\nI\u2019ve spent most of my academic life pursuing goals\u00a0I didn\u2019t even want without realizing it. For reasons I had never critically examined, I wanted to get into colleges I knew nothing about and had no concrete reasons for wanting to attend. I thought that my only option was to close my eyes, try my best to stay on track, and pray that I ended up where I wanted to be.
\nOver time, I had to learn\u00a0the importance of participating in the direction of my academic future\u00a0rather than letting\u00a0some undefined external\u00a0force\u00a0determine it for me. Here are some realizations I had along the way\u2014and maybe they can shed some light on your own journey and help you trust your instincts.<\/p>\n
It took me awhile to figure out what the\u00a0\u201cforce\u201d that was driving me was\u2014this sensation that I wasn\u2019t even aware of.\u00a0At the behest of my sister, I finally took a moment to sit down and self-reflect.
\nThe\u00a0force was, simply put, pressure.
\nIt\u2019s something many of us deal with, and something that we\u00a0can be completely unaware of. We convince ourselves that the wishes of others\u2014our parents, our friends, our school counselors and teachers\u2014are our own, and blindly go off in pursuit of those wishes. This hasty inclination to please others and follow a path largely pre-paved\u00a0for you may not seem so bad in the beginning, but it can, over time, dilute your\u00a0ability to clearly make your own goals and trust your own instincts.<\/p>\n
The first step is to realize what road you\u2019re on right now. Take time to open your eyes and look\u00a0at the reality in front of you. Does the road ahead lead to the right future for you? What will it really look like if you follow it? My work in college as a Student Brand Ambassador with Kaplan has, in part, helped me understand the value of\u00a0helping students\u00a0realize their dreams\u2014and put themselves in the best possible position to do so.
\nHere\u2019s a litmus test that worked for me: If\u00a0the path is the right one for you, you may\u00a0feel a sense of peace and inner conviction that would make it harder for you\u00a0not<\/i>\u00a0to pursue it than to pursue it. If it feels\u00a0too<\/em>uphill\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0the time, it might just be someone else\u2019s goal.
\nTake time to look around you and realize the multitude of options\u00a0that lay ahead. You\u00a0have the power to step off a pre-determined path and get onto a new one any time you want. Realizing that is not always easy, especially when external forces are still pushing you along, but this is your life and your future. You\u2019re the one who will have to live it\u2014everyone else is living their own.
\nFinally, take time to look behind you and identify\u00a0all of the pressures pushing you along right now. What are they? Can they be cut out? Can they be redirected to push you down the right path for you?<\/p>\nWhere does future planning come in?<\/h3>\n
\nHave confidence\u00a0in the road that you choose, and realize that you always have the right\u2014and the chance\u2014to change paths. Pursue a\u00a0future that will challenge you, but that you will also delight in pursing. Seek the road and the achievements that give you the best sense of personal accomplishment. Don\u2019t let the voice of others drown out your own. Trust your instincts, and make the decisions that will allow you to say: \u201cI<\/i>\u00a0chose this path.\u201d
\nAs Steve Jobs famously said, \u201cHave the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.\u201d
\nSo go ahead. Block out the noise and think about it. What does your path look like? Where does it lead?
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