Note: This article is by Angela Choi, who talks about how to plan your life through your choices.
When I first heard this quote as an undergraduate, I was excited and wanted to see how the next few years of my life would unfold so that I could make sense of things in retrospect.
Now, nearly a decade after graduating from college and reflecting on my experiences of the past several years, I can confidently say that my life has been a testament to this quote. Here's the short version of my story:
In 2011, during my final year of university, I got a job at PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the major consulting firms, and around the same time I also got a university scholarship for a year to study Mandarin in China and Taiwan.
Then I decided to pursue my university scholarship and was fortunate enough to push my start date at PricewaterhouseCoopers by one year, and the semester I spent in Taiwan up to that date proved to be one of the most memorable and happiest periods of my life.
In 2014, I found a call for applications for individuals to represent the United States Pavilion at the World Expo 2015 in Milan, Italy. They were looking for individuals with the ability to speak two languages because the World Fair attracts people from all over the world.
After spending a year studying Mandarin in China and Taiwan, I was able to apply thanks to my language skills, and they chose me to represent the United States while I was working at the U.S. Pavilion, so I decided to volunteer as a blogger at the Pavilion, documenting various events.
In 2017, two years after the World Expo, I got the opportunity to work on a cruise ship that I had wanted to work on since I was a student in college. In 2011, I wanted to work on the cruise ship, but I was not qualified for any of the positions.
In 2017, they were looking for a reporter. Anyone can write articles, conduct interviews, and take photos to document activities on board and at the destinations at which the ship has docked.
At this point in my career, I had nearly 4 years of work experience split between consulting and working at a startup, neither of which had anything to do with journalism.
However, because I volunteered as a blogger for the U.S. Pavilion, I was able to prove that I could fulfill reporter duties and work as a reporter while sailing around Southeast Asia and Oceania.
In 2011, when I decided to study abroad in China and Taiwan, I could not understand where this decision would lead me in the end, and Steve Jobs was right: You can only understand things by looking back.
Four tips for making the right choices
From these experiences, here are four tips for making the right choices:
1. Listen to your gut and do what feels right
Although I received a university scholarship to study abroad, I was reluctant to accept it. My family did not think it was a good idea. They thought it was useless to spend a year studying Chinese because I had put off a job opportunity, and I also felt a responsibility to return to New York City to support my elderly grandparents, who raised me.
My mind was telling me to do the logical thing by accepting the job offer, while my heart was telling me to go abroad, and then I thought: One year is nothing if you look at the big picture; I will spend the next fifty years in business; but a one-year scholarship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
2. Seek support from experts
For both scholarship and cruise ship reporting work, I've reached out to people who have been successful before me in scholarship and cruise ship reporting work. These people were more than happy to support me by sharing their experiences and offering advice.
3. Do things for fun without expecting anything in return
When I decided to study Mandarin in China and Taiwan, it was because I loved learning it.
And when I decided to volunteer to blog at the U.S. Pavilion, it was because I wanted to take part in this experience and have a deeper understanding of the global issues that the Pavilion was dealing with, and by listening to my heart and doing the things that I unknowingly enjoyed affecting my life at the time, I planned my life through these choices.
4. Focus on the employability of your skills and show them
When I applied for the cruise ship reporting job, my experience in consulting and start-up businesses didn't make a strong case for the position.
So I focused on my experience at the American Pavilion, how I worked on its blog, and how I used to treat over 50,000 visitors a day. So working on a cruise ship with more than 1,000 passengers would definitely be something I could do.
In conclusion
When we listen to our hearts and to the people who encourage us and do the things that make us happy, it may not seem like we are doing much because the results aren't immediate. Yet, one day, you'll look back and see that you've been building your life all along.
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