it's MY life
if one more person asks me what i want to do with my life, and then says "oh, social work? you won't make any money doing that." i'm going to scream. i know they don't make much money, I REALIZE THAT! if i based my future career on what would make me a lot of money, i know for a fact i would end up miserable. obviously money is necessary in today's world, i'm not dumb enough to think it's not, but it's not the only factor to consider when figuring out what i want to do with my life. i want to make a difference in peoples' lives. my goal in life is not to have every material item that i want. granted, i hope i'm financially comfortable and whatnot... but it's really not the most important thing to me. it's not even 2nd or 3rd on my list of what will be most important to me in my life. and i really love when people just look at me and say "social work is difficult, what makes you think you can handle it?" what makes them think i can't? i think i have a better idea of what i can and cannot handle than anyone else, even people who know me really well. somebody has to do it, somebody has to be there for other people... i want to be there for people. i just don't understand why so many people think they know what's best for me, and why they feel the need to badger me about the only thing i've ever really cared about doing with my life. if i find out it's not for me, fine. but let me find that out for myself! i don't need anyone telling me that what i want to do with my life isn't right for me, especially those who have no clue how i really feel about it. then again... nobody knows how strongly i feel about it. the two areas of social work that i'm most interested in is working with terminally ill people and their families, and with abused/neglected children. do i think that's an easy path to take in life? not at all. but it's one i want to take, and if anyone wants to tell me differently, fine, they can say anything they want. that doesn't mean i have to listen. i will listen to people's advice and their opinions, but in the end, it's my life. i'm going to do what i want, and do what i think i'll be best at.