when I grow up...

"Vocation is where our greatest passion meets the world's greatest need."  - Frederick Buechner



I don't really remember any especially strong feelings as a child concerning what I wanted to be when I grew up. I remember my astronaut phase. I'm pretty sure I said teacher once or twice. At the end of high school, I wanted to go into film editing. In first grade, we had to draw pictures of what we wanted to be when we grew up, and I told the sixth graders who were helping us with the assignment that I wanted to work with animals but I didn't want to be a vet and have to put them to sleep when they got old, and some sixth grader told me to be an animal counselor. I don't know what the what that is, but I'm pretty sure I just drew a picture of me with some puppies and kittens and probably some toads.

I didn't declare Geography in college until I received a notice from the registrar's office letting me know the deadline to declare if I wanted to graduate in 2008 was at the end of the week. I didn't figure out what I think I want to do with that for an additional 3-5 years (you know, like last week or so, and I still have about seventeen thirty-seven fifty-one a million other ideas.).

This whole vocation thing has been a challenging journey, clearly backed up by years of not having any idea what in the world I should/ want to/ am best suited to/ am called to do.One of the most incredible things about being a YAV is this whole thing about vocational discernment, which seeks to answer basically all of those questions, at least to some degree.

It has been extremely powerful finding this intersection of my interests and my faith-- finding real and productive and meaningful ways to act out my beliefs. I have a whole congregation supporting me in doing so, as well as my actual boss, my site coordinator, who helps guide us through various readings and conversations about how to work on this faith stuff, what it means to live in New Orleans, and who on earth I am as a human being and as a part of this intentional community.

Despite the many challenges along the way, this is a very comfortable place to be situated. I cannot speak highly enough to being intentional about figuring it out (rather than waffling in frustration over not having figured it out, which was one of my many previous methods that didn't really accomplish much). Vocational discernment is treating me very well. I really like being intentional.




A little pep talk to back it all up (stop being boring, it's time to do something, I want to be on the road that leads to awesome, this is your/my/our time, etc.):




I think you should watch this if you haven't already. Heck, if you have, watch it again. It's great, except for the part when he quotes Journey, because I hate that song. But "What will be your Space Jam?" really speaks to me as a geography major.