Growing up, we are told to play it safe. Not following the norm might result in failure, and failure is bad. We avoid it like the plague and look down on those that endure it publicly.
Throughout my childhood and adolescence, I have always had a passion for reading and writing. My mother told me that I would fall asleep reading books on the sofa in elementary school, long after I completed my reading logs. I was a quiet bookworm and loved the outlet words gave me to create whatever reality I wanted.
When I reached high school, however, I experienced failures in writing. I struggled in English class freshman year, which concluded with me receiving a failing grade on my final paper. I took this as not being good enough, signed up for a lower level class, and gave up on my passion.
With college approaching, I was told by many to pursue accounting. Their reason for this suggestion? It was a guaranteed job upon graduation. I listened and enrolled at UNT as a business major. Although I liked my business classes, I still loved English. It felt good to write again, and I was receiving positive feedback on my work. I started to wonder why I stopped writing and decided to pursue journalism - specifically advertising. I loved the idea of creating content that connects consumers to brands. Doing this for a living seemed unreal.
Changing majors was scary for me. I was going against the status quo set for me by others and was opening myself up to more failure. However, now that I am a senior, I can say pursuing my passion was one of the best decisions of my life. I have experienced failure since then, but I wouldn’t trade it for the success it yields.
Therefore, to the person who is playing tug-of-war with failure and normality - embrace your passion. Do what you love, you won’t regret it.