Career Search: Finding Your Passion

Written by Leo Chiu

“What do you want to do with your life?” I just finished my courses and the question stared me in the face. After so many years of school, I finally felt free to discover the answer to this question.

Figuring out what you want to do is a strange thing. You’d like to know what you want to do while you are in school, because then you’d feel like your education had a purpose. This may be true for people who decide their career first and then choose what they will study. During my time at SFU, I decided that my university education was not going to decide my career. My education was strictly for my benefit, to learn about my world and to learn to make changes to society. My university background in Communication would be very important to me, no matter which field I chose to work in.

Considering the Options

Anyhow, back to what I wanted to do with my life. There was always the possibility of more education. This is what my parents wanted. Like any good parents, they wanted to a) protect me, and b) ensure that I was motivated to achieve my fullest potential. So, a) I appreciated that they wanted what was best for me, and b) I assured them that I wanted to find out what I liked to do. I wanted to see how easy (or difficult) it would be to find a job.

For a few months, I volunteered at Science World and World Vision Canada. I tutored English and helped out with my church. I was also actively looking for a job in my field, and I was glad that I had saved money from paid internships while still in school. Perhaps it was time to consider graduate school.

One day, I thought about what I wanted to do with my life. (These thoughts come up often when you are looking for work.) I knew I wanted to help those who could not find help. While browsing through several graduate school tests, my girlfriend suggested that I could easily do the LSAT (Law School Aptitude Test). “That’s it!” I thought. I would become a lawyer! I could pass the LSAT, train for a few years, and practice law to protect those who were underrepresented.

Except that I didn’t really like the idea of going to law school. I visited the law school at the local university, browsed through some readings and asked people about their experiences. People said that I would be successful, but only if I really enjoyed studying law. I thought perhaps I might start to enjoy law school after pursuing it for a while. After all, it would be worth being unhappy for a while if I could help others. I applied to take the LSAT and started studying.

Wake Up Call

I had found work at a software company doing quality assurance testing (i.e. using programs until they break). Again, this was not something that I would want to do for the rest of my life, but it was an interesting life experience.

While working there, I received an ominous e-mail from a long-time-no-see friend. She asked, “Did you hear what happened to Chia?” The way she asked that question unnerved me.

Chia was my friend from high school. He was the ambitious and friendly captain of my dragonboat race team. In many ways he was like a big brother to me and the other team members. He had moved from Vancouver to Toronto to teach.

“No,” I answered. I shivered as I asked, “What happened?”

“He was in a motorcycle accident in Toronto. He passed away two months ago.”

I thought, “No way! That’s not possible!” He was only 26, with many years left to change society for the better. Then I thought about the times I spent with him, like the times we practiced together and the time I went to Toronto and lived at his place. He was gone. I’d never get to see him again.

I caught up with friends from long ago, asking for details. Chia was an expert rider, but unfortunately, his bike hit a pebble in the road, and he flipped off the bike. The ambulance picked him up, but he passed away before they reached the hospital. Accidents happen to the best of us.

My friends described the two memorial services that were held, one in Toronto and one in Vancouver. Both were packed with people whose lives Chia had touched. There were family members, dragonboat team paddlers, motorcycle enthusiasts, teachers and students. He had been a positive influence for all of these people. He knew his passions, and worked hard to achieve excellence in all that he did.

I wish I could have been there. But hearing about it was enough to get me to ask myself, “What is my passion?”

Asking the Right Question

The question I had asked myself so many times before suddenly became the most urgent question in my life. However, it was now a different question, and it focused my mind on the right priority. If I passed away tomorrow, what would I wish I had done?

I stopped asking what I wanted to do with my life. Now I was asking, “What is my passion?”

My passion wasn’t quality assurance testing. My passion wasn’t going to law school, for I knew I dreaded it. When I looked deep down, I desired to become a teacher. I wanted to be a positive influence for others, whether in church, primary school, secondary school, or abroad. My passion was to teach.

Why did it take me this long to figure it out? I suppose that my friend’s passing pushed me to see things more clearly. Thank you, Chia. You were always a great motivator.

On the Right Course

Now that I had figured out my passion, I had a goal. I had something to shoot for and something to focus my energies on. I didn’t take the LSAT because that wasn’t a priority for me. I enrolled in courses that would make me eligible for teacher training at Simon Fraser University. I left my software quality assurance job so that I could take another job that would give me more time to study.

Each of us is good at something; each of us cares deeply about something. I believe God gives people different talents and different passions.

God has a plan for us, and part of that plan is to fulfill our passions. God builds us around our passions, and I believe we feel fulfilled when we act to become who God planned for us to be. A building contractor needs to consult the architect’s blueprints to lay the proper foundation and to make the home look the way it was intended. The same can be said of life. How can we try to build our life without first consulting the great architect of life, the One who created us for a greater purpose?

Whether it’s school, work or leisure, knowing your passions helps you to focus your energies. When you focus your energies toward something you care about, you will find greater fulfillment because you are doing something that really means something to you.

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Tags: Career, college, faith, fulfillment, God, grad, graduate, job, LIFE, passion, purpose, search, student, volunteer