By Betselot Wondimu ’15

One thing I’ve heard too many times from adults is the worn message that “you shouldn’t waste your time doing anything you don’t want to.” My gut instinct every time I hear that is to scold them for being so blindly naive in their mid-lives, but I end up restraining myself for my sake and theirs. If there’s one thing I’ve learned this year, it’s that you do, in fact, have to do things you don’t have an interest in if you want to move forward in your life.

During my senior year, with a lot of academic expectations and requirements seemingly lifted, I really rearranged my priorities in terms of what I want to do versus what I don’t. Even though I’ve understood the importance of education from a young age, I found myself thinking, “Man, this Chemistry lab is due in two days, and I should really study for this Statistics test; but ‘Tetsuo & Youth’ and ‘B4.Da.$$’ just came out on the same day, and I want to go listen to them ten times each.” Still, I always tried to do what I knew I needed to first in order to move toward my broader goal (fives on those AP exams, homie).

These types of situations will probably transform themselves into more serious forms in your future. Personally, I’m going to have to put myself in more social environments if I want to make lasting connections with people, even though I’d rather let my introverted-self chill in my dorm. You might have to take a certain course you don’t want to in order to fulfill a requirement for your major, and there’s nothing you’ll be able to do about it; You might have to take on an inconvenient internship or job during a summer, and you’ll have to suck it up and put your end goals before “what you want” at the moment.

Life will always put you in situations where you have conflicting positions; where what you want to do may not be what you need to do. Don’t spoil yourself by always doing what you want, but at the same time, don’t torture yourself by always doing what you think is best for your career. You have to find the right balance that will maximize your happiness and minimize bleakness.