YOU CAN BE ANYTHING YOU WANT – AND MORE

The job description on my business card is long. It reads:

Author, Artist, Photographer, Filmmaker, Curator, Public Speaker

When I meet a new person at a party and they ask me what I do, I no longer say “a lot of stuff” with an uncomfortable grimace. I rattle off my list proudly. It took time and a lot of therapy to recognize that it’s okay to be who I am in a world that increasingly tells us to focus and specialize, to do and be one thing.

It’s cliché but true: Life is short. Hear me on this. Do not listen to the advice that you must choose one passion. The truth is, you can be anything you want to be – and more. I’m going to share my journey with you and explain how you, too, can pursue all your passions unashamedly, no therapist fee required.

LEARNING THE HARD WAY

When we are kids, the world and all its possibilities are ours. We can aspire to be a writer one day and an astronaut the next. It’s OK, encouraged, even, to be a basketball player, take piano lessons, and be in the math club, all at the same time. Pursuing multiple paths is seen as being well-rounded, but at some point the messaging abruptly changes. Young adults are urged to choose one path that will become their almighty Career.

As someone who has always been multi-passionate, this “pick one thing and stick with it” message didn’t feel right to me, but because it was what all my peers seemed to be doing, I felt like I was the one who was wrong.

The struggle culminated when I