For the past three years I have attended the Engineering Open House on the U of I campus. Each year I stayed for different amounts of time, went to different exhibits, and went for different purposes, but each time I found that the devotion and excitement the people running the exhibits displayed to be remarkable.

Not only is there an enormous amount of progressive research and discovery going on at the University of Illinois, but there are numerous researchers, professors, and students who devote so much of their time to their projects. To learn about the amazing work they are developing is in itself intriguing, but so is the fascination the researchers themselves have for their field of study.

I believe that kind of excitement is necessary to enjoy your career and the work you do throughout your life. I’ve been told by many people that the best things in life are those that make one happy. From the people I’ve met, those who are the most successful and happy are the ones who genuinely love their field of study. Based on what those people have told me, jobs aren’t work to them but something they would want to do even if they weren’t paid for it.

I think what it comes down to is what one values most in life: money or happiness. Some may say that they are one and the same, and I think that sometimes one can find an occupation that suits them astoundingly well and pays great too. I also know, however, that the passions some people have may not reward them materially as much as if they pursued another occupation that didn’t fit them so great.

I’ve gone back and forth between the two ways professions are perceived. On the one hand, there is the basic need to make money to support oneself and family throughout life. Yet jobs have become such a prominent part of people’s lives over time that they take up the majority of a person’s life.

I don’t want to spend my life unhappy. But I also don’t want to have to scrape to make ends meet following a career that doesn’t have the same benefits as that of another career option. I want to love what I do and live comfortably, but there’s no guarantee that the path I take will automatically lead to both.

The future is daunting, especially when, as a student in high school, one is expected to consider what college one wants to go to, what one wants to major in, and, ultimately, what one wants to do with the rest of one’s life. Even with the guidance of others I still don’t know what interests me the most and what area I’m best in. I know which general direction I want to go, but when it comes to specifics I’m still not sure what to do.

There are so many possibilities for the future, and I believe there's more than one way to succeed and enjoy life. The real trick, I think, is determining which path is going to suit one the best of all.