I’ve heard that one’s freshman year is supposed to be one of the best and also the sophomore year is one of the most difficult.

I don’t know if it is the stress of students needing to decide a major so they can escape having one or more “super senior” years in college. I suppose the majority of students go through a mid-college crisis, but I’ve recently been rethinking

how I’m pursuing it.

Previously, I really wanted to do magazine work. And, I still think that would be a good job, but I have been asking myself, “is this really what I want to do with my life?” Do I have a passion for what I’m doing right now that pushes me to advance even farther in the field?

All throughout my life, people encouraged me to reach for the stars because anything we put our mind to, we can do. That’s a nice motivational speech, but how do you go about doing that?

First of all, I had to realize what makes me tick; I had to find my drive in life. For me, the question is: what is the only thing that I can completely throw myself into and feel like I am making a difference in individuals’ lives while thriving and relishing the work itself?

Like most people, my priorities in life change as I age and experience life in different seasons (and I’m not talking about spring and fall).

Ever since I was little I’ve always wanted to do something adventurous and exciting, whether it be an astronaut, CIA agent, Indiana Jones-type archaeologist, storm chaser or a fighter jet pilot.

I didn’t know if I really wanted to do these things for a living, but I knew I wanted to have fun and make an impact on the people around me. Therefore, I came to college with high aspirations, wanting to make a difference in the community I lived in.

However, for the majority of my freshman year, I settled into the groove of work, hanging out with friends and participating in organizations.

As the year rolled on, I forgot why I even started doing those things. I became unhappy, unmotivated, pessimistic and no fun to be around: I was very selfish, the complete opposite of what I wanted to be when I came to college. First of all, I thought I could do it all. Word to the wise freshman: some extracurricular activities in college demand more than just extracurricular time. I soon found myself overbooked and stretched thin. Therefore, I ended up spending more time doing things that I didn’t feel as passionate about and had to put things that made me “tick” on the back burner. Yes, I found that the part of my job that I enjoyed the most was talking to the people and building those relationships. However, that was the smallest part of my job.

Ever since I was in high school I have loved to work and talk with youth. To pursue my passion and dream of working with them, I would have to drop some of the activities I was doing and devote myself to what I love. I got the chance to pursue this dream this summer while being a cabin leader at a youth camp. I have never been so exhausted, rewarded, challenged and encouraged simultaneously at any other point in my life.

This was a wake-up call for me to refocus myself when I came back to school.

Dreams are good, but college is the time to turn those dreams into realities. Don’t let yourself be drawn away by things that you’re wishy-washy about if it’s going to take away from you pursuing your passion in life.

The biggest lesson I continue to learn is to make the most of every opportunity and to be careful how I invest my time.

Hallie Hocker is the Managing Editor for The Chart. Her opinions are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Chart staff.