Finding your passion takes exploration. Pursuing your passion takes intention. Both take courage.

In my daily work with college students and young professionals, I often have to remind them that their entire lives will never revolve around their current GPA, and that their professional careers are not doomed if they don’t get the perfect internship next summer. Very few people land their dream jobs straight out of college, so they should be open to a variety of opportunities and be adventurous – you never know what else you’ll discover along the way.

As young professionals, we have ideas about what we might want to do with our careers and how we could get there. But sometimes we discover new things we LOVE to do by accident, and it creates a fork in our professional journey that we never saw coming. How do we decide which direction to go: the carefully planned professional itinerary or the uncertainty of something new and intriguing?

I’ve hit that fork in the road many times in my career. I’ll share one such example that changed the course of my life, and truly shaped who I am today.

Long story short: I did not enjoy high school and couldn’t wait to be done with it. However, after I graduated and worked two dead-end jobs for a while I decided I should probably go to college. I was interested in becoming a school counselor so I got my associate’s degree in human services but soon realized an AA degree wouldn’t get me very far. So, I decided to transfer to the University of Washington for a BA, but because I never fulfilled my high school foreign language requirements, I had to satisfy those credits before I could transfer.

I signed up for Spanish 101 at the community college and to my surprise, I absolutely loved it. Took 102. Requirements fulfilled. But that wasn’t enough because I was really good at it (I’m a total grammar nerd) and I was hungry to learn more about the language, people, history, and culture. I bought Spanish CDs and learned the lyrics, watched telenovelas and world news in Spanish. Took 103. Started volunteer teaching English at a center for Spanish speakers. Then, my biggest adventure yet: I decided to do a study abroad trip. Not because I needed credit, but because I was so eager and excited to learn and discover more. I have to be honest, it was a little scary heading out alone to an unknown place for the first time (and not yet being fluent in the language), but I spent the next summer in Costa Rica with a lovely family and housemates that I’m still connected with 20+ years later! It was a transformative experience that not only pushed me to grow personally, but also opened doors to opportunities that shaped my path for years to come.

Since that time, I’ve done Spanish immersion programs in six other countries, taught high school in Chile, worked at a hospital primarily serving patients from Mexico, provided language assistance to Spanish speaking parents, regularly attend Spanish meetup groups, and read every other book in Spanish to keep my skills sharp.

Oh yeah, and I’m a school counselor.

My point is that when you hit a fork in the road, you have options and should explore. You may be swayed by the safer choice, you may take the more adventurous route, or you may find a way to do both. At its core, success begins with honoring what inspires you. Allow your passion to guide you exactly where you’re meant to be. It may not necessarily be easy, but it will be the right decision for you.