30 Days: Day 23- Bandwagon

For the past 12 years (since I was 16) I have known what I wanted to do with my life. I remember vividly talking with my dad on the way up to Idaho to visit family about what I wanted to do. I told him that I didn't care about money and I would only feel fulfilled if I "gave". I couldn't do a job just for the sake of getting paid; it had to have some sort of service be a part of it to feel fulfilled. 

I knew that I wanted to work in Humanitarian Aid, and soon realized that anyone could really volunteer to serve so I was unsure which career path to take. However, I realized that growing up in Utah led to a very sheltered life. I wanted to see what was outside of Utah. I wanted to come to understand why people were the way they were. I wanted to learn about their history and their culture. If I didn't understand this, then how would I be able to help them?

When I was 18, I moved to BYU and declared Humanities as my major. It was the perfect match for me as I developed a love for all of the cultures and history I was studying. I wouldn't trade the things I learned. However, after I had graduated I still had a desire and a yearning to learn more about people that I would need to help.  I had lived in Portugal, but felt a strong desire to learn more. So, after graduation, I travelled around Europe learning and serving as I travelled. It was an amazing, life-changing experience I feel blessed to have had.

The desire that I had as a 16 year-old has not gone away. I think about it every day. I wish I could do it every day. It's funny though...there are times I tell people what I want to do and I feel like I am on a bandwagon of girls that have this crazy dream to change the world. Is it just me, or is everyone wanting to work for the UN, NPOs or NGOs these days? It makes me feel as if this life calling that I feel I have had isn't valid. That its like telling a kid that his dream job of being in the NBA probably wont come to fruition. The more and more I hear of people wanting to do what I have dreamed of, the more unrealistic my dream seems to become. 

How do employers pick between the people that really feel its their calling and passion from the people that want to get away for a vacation? How can I prove myself on an application and in an interview when all it seems to be about is connections? Without this, I know there will be a part missing in my life. With it, I feel I could give all of my heart and soul. It has been a long time since I could say that about something.