@clayboyn, I LOVE this post! especially these points:

Is it really worth it to spend our lives working a job we don't like or compromising our own integrity and values in the pursuit of comfort? That's living for tomorrow while forgetting about the day that we have, and in the end tomorrow never comes.

This is something already known, but also something that we should, in this consumerism society, constantly remind ourselves, as it influences all our career-related decisions.

Parents, friends, and possibly even lovers want what they think is best for us and if we are pursuing something they view as risky or foolish, they can often add doubt and resistance to the path that we want to take. I think of this as a test we put on ourselves to see how intent we are on following our own passions.

This is a GREAT point. My family was against myself pursuing the career of a piano player/teacher when I was a teenager, and for some time I was saying that I chose another school just because of them and that it is their fault I don't do what I loved so much. However, with time I became aware (and they also told me that) that if I was really, REALLY into it, I would find courage to go against everything and to make that career. And the proof it is the right way of thinking is that right now, when I can, I don't feel like coming back to playing the piano seriously.

This is why I believe we should pursue our passions and find a way to make a living from them instead of pursuing money and trying to survive a life spent doing what we don't want to do for the illusion of safety or comfort. There are no guarantees in life other than we all die. I'd rather live before that happens.

This is what I need to remind myself in this period a lot. :) And the older I get, the more stories I hear about people's very different and often crazy and unexpected career paths (which is, I believe, expected in this era), so I am aware that you really, never, NEVER know, and that the only right thing is doing what you love. And then, I also believe, everything is slowly starting arranging to help you succeed in it as you progress and learn.

Have a great day!