Through high school, I wanted to be a police officer, a psychologist and, at one point, a veterinarian. But when the final bell rang, I was stumped. I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

So, I went the cliché route and started in retail. It was fun, but I knew it wasn’t my calling. So, I did a certificate 3 in horticulture. I liked it, but not my thing. I did a hairdressing apprenticeship at Tony & Guy and then got into admin. No spark there either. I then got into hospitality and, while I’m still doing it, it’s not my end goal.

Then, after doing an online personality test, I decided to get into marketing. I loved it, but it didn’t agree with me. But because I loved it so much, I undertook a bachelor degree in communications. And there I found my calling, which clearly wasn’t marketing. It was journalism.

The thing is, while I clearly didn’t know what to do career wise, I knew the answer was out there; so I realised my best option was to just do anything.

You may not know where to start, but you don’t have to start with a career. Find a hobby. Find anything that’s piqued your interest. Maybe it’s a sport or even arts and crafts. And just do it.

Or even save up money and study things you love.

If you’re unemployed and you don’t know what to do, find a simple job. Hospitality or retail are good. Even admin. You gotta start somewhere, and thanks to capitalism, you can’t get anywhere without money. But doing something is more motivating than doing nothing at all. And once you’ve got a job, then just do anything you like.

You’re not going to find what you want by twiddling your thumbs, and you sure as hell ain’t gonna find it here. You may find it through Google, but you won’t know unless you try it.

I only found my love for writing because I did anything. It may have thrown me at a lot of dead ends, but this is expected. The good thing is, I now know what I don’t like, so I can cross them off my list.

In saying that, I did find things that I still do to this day. 10 years ago I became a drag queen because I was keen, and while I’ve learned it’s not my ideal career, I still love to do it. Just another creative outlet for me. I even love photography.

The fact is, you need to do something to gain something. Every action leads to an equal and opposite reaction. So get out there and do anything you like. Eventually you’ll stumble upon your calling and then you won’t need to ask “what do I want to do with my life?” anymore…

But never forget to enjoy the journey. Finding things will never be a dull affair!

Feature image: Saulo Mohana via Unsplash