What do I want to be when I grow up?
Talking to a friend today on IM, she said “I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.” I know exactly how she feels. We are both in our thirties, she’s married with two kids, I’m single. We’re different but I think we’re both at a similar point where we’ve established ourselves. School is done, we have good jobs, we’re no longer struggling. So now what!?
It reminds me of the Peggy Lee song, Is that all there is?
I had the feeling that something was missing.
I don’t know what, but when it was over,
I said to myself, “is that all there is…
So to not totally bum you out, Paul Graham wrote up a new article about what he would say to a high school graduating class. I'm over a dozen years removed but it still resonates and is good advice for any age. My summary: find something that interests you and you will enjoy doing it. Don't give up the search.
Here's the article: What You'll Wish You'd Known by Paul Graham