Carole:

It’s time to be selfish.

Ask yourself: what do *you* really want? Do not consider how you feel towards things with the limitation of what others might think if you pursue what you want. Do not consider what other people want from you. Do not consider how your actions might make other people feel. Do not consider whether or not your life belong to your friends, your family, or your community. Your life belongs to you.

If you do not know what you really want, then get out there and start exploring the world. What are you interested in? What can you look at and feel an intense passion towards? What is out there that you want to discover? Are there things you want to create? Are there people you want to meet? Is there a place you really want to live? What do you want to have in your very own house? How about your very own dining room table, a bookshelf, with a tv whenever you wanna watch your favorite shows? Select only the best things in life that make you happy. Of course, enjoying life will require spending money. So how will you earn money? Start pursuing the sort of job that *you* will enjoy the most! And if you don’t have the qualifications to do that sort of job yet, do what I’m doing and work as a laborer until you can get those qualifications. Being a laborer is not “unglamorous” or burdensome as many make it seem. I can enjoy it so long as I keep in mind that this is the work I must do in order to get the things I want. Besides, you can make any place special if you just focus on what matters to you the most.

It took me 20 years to decide what I want to do with myself. But now that I’ve decided, I’ve begun taking the first steps in making that dream a reality. Once you choose what you want, don’t be stupid about it. Do your research. Figure out what you have to do in order to get it. Just take it one step at a time, and before you know it, you’re enjoying every moment of your life like you never have before.