This is a worthy question for anyone, young or old. Once you discover what makes you come alive, your life is fueled with passion, breakthroughs and insights occur more naturally, and you have a spark of creativity guiding your life. We love this quote from Oprah's 2013 Harvard University Commencement Speech:
“You will find true success and happiness if you have only one goal. There really is only one, and that is this: To fulfill the highest, most truthful expression of yourself as a human being. You want to max out your humanity by using your energy to lift yourself up, your family, and the people around you. Theologian Howard Thurman said it best. He said, ‘Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.’”
When we guide high school students in exploring their interests and career possibilities, this is what we look for: a spark in their eyes. Are they alive at a deep level? And are they on fire?
If they are, students are much more willing to put in long hours and complete passion projects. As a result, they are more likely to get good recommendation letters and win awards.
So start from within. True education is “from the inside out”!