When I grow up.

I think it's funny how all of us at some point in our childhood were asked the ultimate question, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" 

Initially, as a 5-year-old, I wanted to be a mailman.  I thought it would be so great to see all of the wonderful mail people receive and to know everyone in my neighborhood by name.  Cute, huh? Next I heard garbage men earned good money and they got to ride on trucks by hanging on to them.  You can see where my priorities shifted.  Later into middle school, I dreamed of being a car designer.  Still something I would consider today, I have always been in love the with the engineering and beauty behind one of the most essential and costly investments Americans ever make.  Soon after, about eighth grade, I was a pastor's kid, and I wanted to travel the world doing mission work.  I'm sure many professors at APU would try to steer me back in that direction.  That soon faded as I realized that I have a gift in small business.  So from there I did small business management with Donkeymint Tees and now I have found my love with the outdoors and I am seeking to bridge the gap between my business mindset and my thrill seeking personality.

So why am I writing about this now?  Well, I'm just a few years away from graduation and I need to begin to figure things out.  In case you don't want to read the rest of this post, as im sure you scrolled to the bottom right when you opened it just to see if my thoughts are worth your 7.5 minutes of time, I'll explain it in one sentence.  When I came to APU, I was so absolutely sure of what I wanted to do, and since then, things have changed and now I'm a little on edge about the paths ahead of me.  This is completely healthy though. It's not that I suddenly don't feel a direction anymore or that I feel in need of purpose. It's just, for the first time I realized that I am going to be 22 years old and can go anywhere I want in the world.  I mean, how am I supposed to respond to that?

I guess I'm not completely confused. I know that I want to go into either resort tourism or sports apparel and gear.  Ideally I would be working for a small but prosperous ski resort or possibly owning my own shop and spending my spare time in the mountains fishing, kayaking, biking, and riding.  Also, I would love to work for North Face, Patagonia, FreeRide, or any ski or board organization and work on their branding, marketing, and product development.  You get the gist of what I hope to do, God willing.

So what this means is that I have such an opportunity at my fingertips and its kinda thrilling.  I have no problem going anywhere as long as I will be thriving in my career.  I think I would like to stay in the country, but moving to Canada, Switzerland, or Austria... Gosh that would be the dream!  I've narrowed my favorites down to a few places throughout the Northwest region.  Though I am always up for suggestions here's what I'm basically looking at: Jackson Hole, WY (gorgeous but crazy expensive), Whitefish, MT (great and beautiful area, just don't know the city well), Anchorage, AK (big mountain skiing, but a stressful place to move to), Revelstoke, BC (world class riding, but in a new country), and finally Vancouver, BC (amazing city, but I think it's a bit too touristy ever since the Olympic Games).
All of these places have their pros and cons.  I actually think its funny that I've actually only been to a few places on this list.  I personally have this odd drive to go to Whitefish, Montana.  I don't know why, it just seems like an amazing place for me.  And, funny story, the guy I sat next to on the plane home was from there.  He told me all about it. I hope next winter, I can make a ski trip there.

When it all boils down, I'm still going to be a young educated business student that is in need of a job.  I just am so ambitious and am really tired of school.  I just want to jump in and make a difference somewhere already.  But college will be over before I know it and I will miss it terribly, but I just can't get over the reality of how close I am to being done and moving on to my life's next big adventure.

Peace be with you.