I had a wonderful talk over coffee and cheesecake with a good friend of mine the other day. We discussed graduating and what was in store for us in the future. We talked about what we wanted out of life and how much we realized we had grown as people in the last five years. It’s fascinating how it’s more often our perspectives, not our passions, which change.

For instance, I always thought I would be a person who would drop everything and fly off to a foreign country for years at a time, working directly in the field of development. As I’ve grown older, experiencing all sorts of relationships and events, I’ve learned that put great value in the personal relationships and community I grow apart of. Suddenly, the idea of flying away by sacrificing what and who I have at this very moment seems surreal. But this shift in mindset is not me changing my mind about my passion. Not at all – I still greatly desire to learn to empower others to empower themselves – especially those who are disadvantaged and vulnerable.  But what I have realized is that pursuing just this sole passion would lead to an empty sort of life for myself.

To put it simply, it’s like I’ve been running towards a finish line of creating my career and in doing so, I have discounted my life as it is at present. I’ve been asking myself, “What do I want to do with my life?” instead of, “How do I wish to live my life?” Just a simple switch in focus in these questions makes an incredible difference in how I relate to myself and my life to come.

I want to be a part of a community – global and local. I want to meet people from all over the world – with all sorts of stories to share. I feel a duty to help my fellow human kin. But I will not pretend to have completely altruistic reasons to live for such things. These are the things that make me happy in my life. The questions I ask myself in how to go about doing all of these things challenge me to broaden my horizons and make me feel fulfilled. From now on, I want to keep asking myself how  I will live my life in the present instead of wondering what the future holds. The future is written here.