You Can Plan a Picnic, But You Can't Plan the Weather

I always thought that with every year I would grow in wisdom, but tonight as I oscillated back and forth between waiting out the end of the year with my current employer to secure financial security for my sabbatical in South America and committing to a new employer, it was my younger sister who reminded me of the truth in the cliche phrase, "You can plan a picnic, but you can't plan the weather." I planned had selected the companies and positions I desired, emphatically described my passion, experience and education qualifying me for the job, but the job market and employers turned a cold shoulder and balked that I lacked "experience." I planned my picnic, but I couldn't plan the weather.

Being 23, one year deep into the real world, has not helped me to decide on what I want to do next. In fact, if anything, the past year has made me more confused. When I first graduated, I was thankful for having a company hire me and was a sponge ready to absorb whatever training and information they puddled around me. The excitement of my first job quickly fizzled, and within 9 months I was once again on the prowl for a new position. I was seeking a job that wasn't just the 8-5 activity I performed Monday through Friday, but rather one that combined the skills and talents I was most proud of.

I'm constantly reminded that I am young. I am only 23, and I have years ahead of me to build toward acheiving my professional goals. However, while reading Paulo Coelho's The Pilgrimage, a quote struck me:

"The good fight is one that’s fought in the name of our dreams. When we’re young and our dreams first explode inside us with all their force, we are very courageous, but we haven’t yet learned how to fight. With great effort, we learn how to fight but no longer have the courage to go into combat… We say that our dreams were childish, or too difficult to realize, or the result of our not having known enough about life…"

Maybe I have lots of time, but will I still have the courage?