Chris,
When I was your age, I was absolutely obsessed with horses. I was a pretty good rider, and convinced I could make a living in the horse industry. After a few years, I looked around and realized the people WORKING in the horse industry a) weren't making very much money and b) weren't having much fun any more. Being a reasonably bright person, I realized that sometimes it's better to keep things that are a passion as a hobby, in order to keep the passion. I realized I would have to find a vocation that would fund my avocation . . . I ended up in medicine, which provided the funds but limited the time. Eventually, I made my way to the ER, which provides both the funds AND the time. And I not only ride, but nowadays, I dive, too.
It's incredibly tempting, when you find something that absolutely delights you, to consider how you could do it full time. But few people are as lucky as my father was . . . He was a pilot, and worked for an airline, and to the end of his days never understood why somebody would pay him to do what he would pay somebody else to LET him do. For most people, when something becomes a job, it becomes a job, and no longer a passion.
Just another viewpoint.
When I was your age, I was absolutely obsessed with horses. I was a pretty good rider, and convinced I could make a living in the horse industry. After a few years, I looked around and realized the people WORKING in the horse industry a) weren't making very much money and b) weren't having much fun any more. Being a reasonably bright person, I realized that sometimes it's better to keep things that are a passion as a hobby, in order to keep the passion. I realized I would have to find a vocation that would fund my avocation . . . I ended up in medicine, which provided the funds but limited the time. Eventually, I made my way to the ER, which provides both the funds AND the time. And I not only ride, but nowadays, I dive, too.
It's incredibly tempting, when you find something that absolutely delights you, to consider how you could do it full time. But few people are as lucky as my father was . . . He was a pilot, and worked for an airline, and to the end of his days never understood why somebody would pay him to do what he would pay somebody else to LET him do. For most people, when something becomes a job, it becomes a job, and no longer a passion.
Just another viewpoint.
