My Dream Is Not a Job Title
I was taught very early in school that eventually we are all supposed to choose one path in life, stick to it, keep building on top of it and slowly climb towards some version of success.
You need good grades so you can get into a good university. You need to choose a good university so you can get a good job. You need a good job so you can build a career, earn more money, move forward and keep reaching the next level.
There is always a next step.
But somewhere along the way, the actual purpose of these things can get lost.
School is supposed to be about learning about the world, discovering how things work and becoming curious. But very quickly, learning can become less about curiosity and more about performance.
University is supposed to be a chance to explore something that genuinely interests you. But suddenly, you are thinking about rankings, employability, salaries and whether your degree will lead to the “right” kind of career.
There is this strong idea that every choice we make should move us closer to some goal.
But whose goal is that?
Is it something we genuinely want, or is it simply something we have been taught to want?
At what point are we actually taught to dream big? To reflect on our values? To ask ourselves what kind of life we want to live, instead of only what kind of career we want to have?
I think sometimes we become so focused on building a life that looks successful that we forget to ask what success actually means to us.
Our ego can become louder than our real desires.
We want the respected degree, the impressive job title, the salary, the recognition, the proof that we are doing well. And there is nothing inherently wrong with any of those things. But I think there is a difference between wanting something because it genuinely makes our life better and wanting it because we like what it says about us.
Maybe some people really are meant to spend their lives following one clear path. Maybe they are meant to become exceptional at one thing and keep building on top of it for decades.
And honestly, I am a little jealous of that sometimes.
There seems to be a certain kind of security in knowing exactly where you are going. The decisions feel clearer. The path is easier to explain.
But that is not me, it has never been me and probably never will be. I have tried different things, loved them, left them behind, come back to them and then become fascinated by something completely different.
For a long time, I thought that made me unfocused, not dedicated or disciplined enough.
Now I think it simply means I am curious.
I do not think my life is supposed to be about finding one thing and holding onto it forever.
I think the purpose of my life is to experience as much as I can with the time, energy and resources I have. My life is not limited by the idea that I need one perfect career or one perfectly defined version of myself.
Not everything in my life has to be productive either.
I have hobbies that do not make me money. I paint things nobody will ever see. I learn random skills simply because they interest me. I try things I am not immediately good at. I travel somewhere just because I am curious about it. I meet people because I enjoy them, not because they are useful connections.
I imagine a future where my career is meaningful, creative and challenging. I work on projects that genuinely interest me, across different areas and disciplines that I may not have even discovered yet. I am surrounded by people who are kind, curious and ambitious. People trust my ideas, value my perspective and give me space to grow.
I am financially independent. I can travel, invest in ideas I care about, support the people I love and make decisions based on what feels right for my life, not only on what feels safest financially.
My work supports my life. My life does not exist to support my career.
My family remains a real part of my everyday life. Even if we live in different countries, I see them often. I have the time, freedom and resources to go home, be present for important moments and spend ordinary time together too.
Love has space in my life as well. I have a loving partner and a relationship that receives real attention and care. We have time for each other, we travel together, build a home together and share a life that is not organized entirely around work.
My friendships are strong. There are long dinners, spontaneous plans, conversations that go nowhere, trips together and people around me who know who I am beyond what I do professionally.
I live somewhere beautiful. My home feels warm, personal and creative. There is art on the walls, books, objects collected from different places and a dog running around the house. My home is not just impressive or aesthetically perfect. It feels alive, safe and completely mine.
I am healthy and have the energy to enjoy everything I have built. I take care of myself. I sleep. I rest. I move. I have slow mornings. I do not treat exhaustion as proof that I am working hard enough.
Travel remains a big part of my life. Sometimes I travel for work. Sometimes with my partner, friends or family. Sometimes I go somewhere simply because I have never been there before. I keep discovering new places, cultures and people, and I allow those experiences to change me.
And most importantly, I have time to do all that.
There is this saying that “you can’t have it all.” And maybe that is true to an extent. I know I cannot have everything, all at once, all the time. There will be periods when work needs more of me, periods when family does, and moments when I have to compromise, wait or choose one thing over another.
But I still believe I can build a life that makes room for all the things that matter to me.
Because I do not have one dream.
I have many.
And I am building a life big enough to hold them all.
What can I do now to make this happen?
I want to keep building skills that give me freedom rather than locking me into one narrow path. That means developing myself creatively, learning more about business, trying different kinds of projects, building financial independence, meeting people from different fields and continuing to explore what genuinely interests me.
Right now, my goal is not to have everything figured out. My goal is to create options.
I can do that by building a strong portfolio, working on real projects, improving my creative and technical skills, becoming more confident in presenting my ideas and saying yes to experiences that expose me to something new.
I also want to become better at recognizing which opportunities actually fit the life I am trying to build. Not every impressive opportunity is necessarily the right one. I want to learn to choose based not only on status, money or what looks good on paper, but also on whether something gives me room to grow, stay curious and live according to my values.
I do not expect every experience to become part of my final career. Some things will stay with me, some will lead somewhere unexpected and some will simply teach me what I do not want.
For me, this stage of life is about experimenting, learning and gradually understanding what kind of work, environment and lifestyle suit me best.
I do not need to choose my whole future now.
I need to keep building the skills, confidence and freedom that allow me to choose it later.