Aspirations and Plans for New Possibilities

When asked about my aspirations for my life, I've always been very much of a realist.  I struggled with daring to dream big, but was convinced that playing it safe and being 'realistic' was the better way to go.  This led me to pursue, but not complete, a college major that was something that felt safe, not actually what I knew in my heart I WANTED to do.  I yearned to be involved in media, whether it be TV or radio but convinced myself that the competition in such a career path made it not a sensible choice.  Instead, I began a business degree.  I was always good in accounting but that seemed like painful long term career choice, so I selected a marketing major.  I am still a few classes away from earning my BS in Business Admin which is the major I switched to after hearing that my marketing major would likely land me a sales job and not the more creative career I was looking in advertising or the like.

Now that I've had a 'few' year to experience the real world, I've realized that I SHOULD have gone from what I really wanted because the power of your passions is not something that should be underestimated.  But I've also found that sometimes we need to really know ourselves before we can truly understand what we want out of life.  If I had my way these days, I'd rather be a stay at home mom.  As a high school and college student I swore I could never see myself without a career.  The idea of being a housewife sounded downright painful.  Granted, I am not a lover of cooking OR cleaning, which is part of the package deal, for the brief time I was able to stay home I took great pride in taking care of these things.  But I LOVED spending time with my kids.  Yes, I continued volunteer work and spent some of that time working a home based business but my greatest joy was being with my kids when they needed me most.  If I dared to dream of what my life would look like now, it would mean being able to stay home full time.  At this point, it would most definitely still include blogging and if I'm lucky someday may include profitable blogging.

At a point in the not so distant past, I thought I really wanted to be a professional photographer.  Photography is something I love.  But I quickly learned that this was not the way to do for me.  But I only learned that by getting out there and trying it.  I continue to love photography and work to improve my skills whenever I can, but as a career, not for me.

So these days, as long as stay home full time isn't in the cards, I will stay at my day job to pay the bills.  But I will continue getting out there with my writing.  I don't have a specific plan for my writing but I am convinced that by just continuing to pursue something I love doing and using it to share things I am passionate about, I can't go wrong.  I may never be the next big blogger or blogger turned author, but I have made great friends through my blog and have provided my family with some awesome opportunities we would otherwise not have had.

Fifteen plus years ago I would have been TERRIFIED to share anything I wrote with more than one or two people despite my love of writing.  So my plan for my life is to continue to do the things I love without worry about what other think.  To be who I am and want to be and know that the people who really matter will love me for it.


About OWN: The New Oprah Winfrey Network New shows. New faces. New possibilities.
OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network is a multi-platform media company designed to entertain, inform and inspire people to live their best lives. OWN will debut on January 1, 2011, in approximately 80 million homes on what is currently the Discovery Health Channel. During the OWN launch weekend, viewers will have the chance to see a little of everything OWN has to offer. OWN programming includes original series and specials, all focused on entertaining, informing and inspiring people to live their best lives.
Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network blogging program, for a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.