Making choices (again!)

A quick entry of what is next 

As my senior year of college comes to an end I find myself asking the same questions I was asked during my senior year of high school. What do I want to do with my life? and, where do I want to do it? I am happy to say, that the answer to this questions still has not changed; I have no idea.

Now, don’t get me wrong here, I am not saying that I lack a purpose and that I am feeling completely lost. In fact, it is the exact opposite. I am excited to discover what life brings and I am intrigued to see what new possibilities open up once school ends. Four years ago when I chose to go to college in the US I had no idea of what an amazing experience it would be. I have had the opportunity to go to exciting places, learn fascinating things and meet amazing people. All this thanks to the opportunities my choices gave me.

So, as choosing becomes important again, there are a few things I know about what I want for the next period of my life.

- I want life to remain exciting. I like being a twenty-something year old living with friends. I like traveling and meeting new people. I like discovering new things and exploring different activities. No matter where or what I choose to do next I have to be sure that I can still do things that remind me how amazing it is to be alive!

- I want to continue learning. After four years of studies, countless hours of reading books (well, Wikipedia), and more projects than I can remember I have learned one single thing:the more I know the less I understand. I have discovered that there is still much to learn and that, more importantly, I am still curious to learn it. My new life has to place me in a setting where I am pushed to continue learning. I want to avoid mindless work and be intellectually challenged by my job.

- It all comes down to the people. We are social beings. We like to share. We like to be with others and have friends to laugh with. Amazing people exist everywhere and they are all just waiting to be discovered. I don’t only want to live with people that are amazing, I want to work with a team that is amazing. I want to work under a manager I admire  for a company whose CEO is worth looking up to.

- Don’t rush to make money. We graduate, we get jobs, we want to make money. We want to be capable of eating out, go to parties and travel as much as we can. We want to feel that all our hard work is paying off and we want to feel successful. All this things are important and should not be ignored. However, I must ask myself how much money is enough and what am I willing to sacrifice to get it.  As the job offers start rolling in I am very conscious that taking the highest paying offer is going to be tempting. Yet, there are other things in life that make me happy and those things have to be my priority. I will reach a point in my life where making money will be on my top priority list. That point is not now.

- Stay smart. Do not make irrational decisions. Life is for real this time and we don't get any more free passes. Graduating means real responsibilities kick in. We  no longer get to hand in our homework late or skip class because we went out the night before. Real life is harsh and we need to treat it that way. I dont want to waste time doing things I dislike and spend days (or years) doing things that lead me nowhere. Even if I have no destination it is important to always keep on walking.

So there it is. Those are the things that matter to me and based on those ideas I am going to choose what I am doing with my life next. In the mean time its all about opening doors. Applying to jobs, taking the GRE’s, etc.

Please feel free to comment on this post. I know most of my friends are going through the same thing I am and I want to hear what you guys think. In fact, I encourage you to not comment online and to meet up with me for coffee! Its all about the people and you guys are amazing.

Last minute edit. My mom sent me this link and I think its spot on to what I am trying to say http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTmvA5Gw0Bk