![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-Find-Your-Passion-In-High-School-579x1024.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nStep 1:<\/strong> Finding and identifying your passion<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\nIdentifying your passion isn\u2019t a one-day task. It takes a lot of time, self-evaluation, and exploration. While you definitely don\u2019t need to (and probably shouldn\u2019t) have your life planned out before graduating high school, it helps to have at least a fundamental understanding of what you do and don\u2019t like. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Explore your current interests<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nPeople don\u2019t really change that much. The same things that you\u2019re interested in now will likely be the same (or similar to) the things you\u2019ll like when you\u2019re an adult. It is really difficult to convince yourself to enjoy something that you don\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pursuing a career you don\u2019t like just because it is high-paying won\u2019t be a decision that ends well. After just a few years, you may find yourself burnt out<\/a> and striving for something new. For that reason, it is best to start your career journey by pinpointing what you love and figuring it out from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\nKathleen Bellon Pizarro, a Harvard student in the class of \u201824, explained this sentiment beautifully in a recent blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cGrowing up, I was known as the avid cat-lover,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI would dress up as a cat every Halloween and (to my parents’ chagrin) adopted every stray cat that I found on the street. Sooner than later, my adoration for cats evolved into a care for animals. I convinced my mother to buy me a book on animal emergency room stories at a fair, and that is when I firmly decided that I would be a veterinarian one day. I ended up volunteering at my local animal hospital. It wasn\u2019t a big job or anything: I was just a ten-year-old filing away pet information into folders and feeding the diaper-clad office cat. If I never became obsessed with cats and shadowed a surgery at the animal hospital, I never would have eventually discovered my passion for practicing medicine on humans. So, pursue that interest you have in whatever manner you like. You don\u2019t know where it\u2019ll take you!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Explore what your school and\/or community has to offer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nOftentimes, we gravitate towards liking what we are good at. To find out what you\u2019re good at, you need to try many different activities. Conveniently, high school is probably the best time in your life to experiment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chances are, your high school offers sports, jazz band, orchestra, career-oriented clubs, and many other opportunities to help you identify your passion. The best advice is to try everything that sparks your interest. It will still be a rewarding experience, even if you\u2019re left unsatisfied. When it comes to identifying your passion, there is also a lot of value in finding out what you don\u2019t like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take online courses<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThere are thousands of free online courses covering nearly every subject available on MOOC sites like Coursera<\/a> and edX. Many of these courses are taught by professors at some of the world\u2019s most prestigious universities, including Harvard<\/a>, Yale<\/a>, Stanford<\/a>, and others. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThese courses will give you an idea of what you\u2019ll learn at the university level and introduce you to some of the concepts, practices, and philosophies used by experts in a wide variety of fields. Many college students who go into college undeclared spend their first year taking classes across many disciplines and determining what sparks their interest. These online courses will give you a head start on that process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talk to your parents, teachers, and family friends <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nFrom a young age, typically by the time you\u2019re 18 or 19 years old, you are expected to decide what you want to major in. In other words, you have to decide what subject you want to spend thousands of dollars and years of your life studying so that you can hopefully land a job in the field after graduation. But high schools and colleges often do a poor job explaining what to expect in terms of what your daily operations might be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only way to truly know what a field is like is by talking to professionals working in it. Have conversations with your parents, teachers, family friends, and all of the adults in your life about their current and past jobs. Ask if you can shadow them for a week in the summer to develop an understanding of their day-to-day tasks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step 2:<\/strong> Pursue your passions <\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\nOnce you\u2019ve identified a few passions by engaging in extracurricular activities, taking online courses, and talking to the adults in your life, it is time to pursue them further in more professional settings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
High school internships<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThere are hundreds of companies, including some of the world\u2019s biggest, that run internship programs<\/a> for students as young as freshmen in high school. Not only are internships impressive on a resume and a college application, but they are also a great way to test out career paths. With an internship, you get to witness, first-hand, what professionals do day-to-day. And depending on the size of the company or organization that you intern with, there\u2019s a chance you\u2019ll be thrown right into the thick of it, working side-by-side with full-time employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\nYou can find many types of internships on TUN\u2019s job search engine<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\nVolunteer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nYou have to apply and be selected for internships. To land volunteering gigs, all you typically have to do is sign up. There are dozens of volunteer opportunities available to you at all times, many of which may be in your own community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Start the search process by looking and asking around at your school and at nearby companies, nonprofits, or community organizations. If you\u2019ve identified a specific place where you would love to volunteer and they don\u2019t have any opportunities listed, ask anyway! More often than not, groups will accept free help. And if they turn you down, at least you will be on their radar when opportunities do emerge! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are also many websites that list volunteer opportunities. The best place to start is with TUN\u2019s job search engine<\/a>, where you can find hundreds of volunteer positions. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe benefits of volunteering<\/a> are endless. Not only will you develop practical skills and make valuable connections that may benefit your future career, but you will also feel empowered, humbled, and transformed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nFind a mentor<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nMentors are crucial when it comes to learning how to pursue your passions. Just like it would be difficult to learn calculus without a math teacher, it is much harder to turn your passion into a career without the guidance of someone who has done it before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember earlier in the article when I told you to connect with the adults in your life and ask if you can shadow them? Well, reconnect with the one whose career excited you the most and ask them to be your mentor. It doesn\u2019t have to be a formal thing. Your mentor is mostly there to give you advice when making decisions that may impact your future career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is also worth noting that you can (and should) have more than one mentor. As you further pursue your passion, you\u2019ll meet people along the way who you can pick up as mentors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Focus on what is best for you<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nWhen you know what you\u2019re passionate about, you shouldn\u2019t let what others are doing impact your personal decisions. Instead of following the pack and doing what your friends do, enroll in the groups, activities, and classes that interest and will be appropriate for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People don\u2019t really change that much. The same things that you\u2019re interested in now will likely be the same (or similar to) the things you\u2019ll like when you\u2019re an adult. It is really difficult to convince yourself to enjoy something that you don\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pursuing a career you don\u2019t like just because it is high-paying won\u2019t be a decision that ends well. After just a few years, you may find yourself burnt out<\/a> and striving for something new. For that reason, it is best to start your career journey by pinpointing what you love and figuring it out from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kathleen Bellon Pizarro, a Harvard student in the class of \u201824, explained this sentiment beautifully in a recent blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGrowing up, I was known as the avid cat-lover,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI would dress up as a cat every Halloween and (to my parents’ chagrin) adopted every stray cat that I found on the street. Sooner than later, my adoration for cats evolved into a care for animals. I convinced my mother to buy me a book on animal emergency room stories at a fair, and that is when I firmly decided that I would be a veterinarian one day. I ended up volunteering at my local animal hospital. It wasn\u2019t a big job or anything: I was just a ten-year-old filing away pet information into folders and feeding the diaper-clad office cat. If I never became obsessed with cats and shadowed a surgery at the animal hospital, I never would have eventually discovered my passion for practicing medicine on humans. So, pursue that interest you have in whatever manner you like. You don\u2019t know where it\u2019ll take you!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Oftentimes, we gravitate towards liking what we are good at. To find out what you\u2019re good at, you need to try many different activities. Conveniently, high school is probably the best time in your life to experiment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Chances are, your high school offers sports, jazz band, orchestra, career-oriented clubs, and many other opportunities to help you identify your passion. The best advice is to try everything that sparks your interest. It will still be a rewarding experience, even if you\u2019re left unsatisfied. When it comes to identifying your passion, there is also a lot of value in finding out what you don\u2019t like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are thousands of free online courses covering nearly every subject available on MOOC sites like Coursera<\/a> and edX. Many of these courses are taught by professors at some of the world\u2019s most prestigious universities, including Harvard<\/a>, Yale<\/a>, Stanford<\/a>, and others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These courses will give you an idea of what you\u2019ll learn at the university level and introduce you to some of the concepts, practices, and philosophies used by experts in a wide variety of fields. Many college students who go into college undeclared spend their first year taking classes across many disciplines and determining what sparks their interest. These online courses will give you a head start on that process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From a young age, typically by the time you\u2019re 18 or 19 years old, you are expected to decide what you want to major in. In other words, you have to decide what subject you want to spend thousands of dollars and years of your life studying so that you can hopefully land a job in the field after graduation. But high schools and colleges often do a poor job explaining what to expect in terms of what your daily operations might be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only way to truly know what a field is like is by talking to professionals working in it. Have conversations with your parents, teachers, family friends, and all of the adults in your life about their current and past jobs. Ask if you can shadow them for a week in the summer to develop an understanding of their day-to-day tasks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve identified a few passions by engaging in extracurricular activities, taking online courses, and talking to the adults in your life, it is time to pursue them further in more professional settings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are hundreds of companies, including some of the world\u2019s biggest, that run internship programs<\/a> for students as young as freshmen in high school. Not only are internships impressive on a resume and a college application, but they are also a great way to test out career paths. With an internship, you get to witness, first-hand, what professionals do day-to-day. And depending on the size of the company or organization that you intern with, there\u2019s a chance you\u2019ll be thrown right into the thick of it, working side-by-side with full-time employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find many types of internships on TUN\u2019s job search engine<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You have to apply and be selected for internships. To land volunteering gigs, all you typically have to do is sign up. There are dozens of volunteer opportunities available to you at all times, many of which may be in your own community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start the search process by looking and asking around at your school and at nearby companies, nonprofits, or community organizations. If you\u2019ve identified a specific place where you would love to volunteer and they don\u2019t have any opportunities listed, ask anyway! More often than not, groups will accept free help. And if they turn you down, at least you will be on their radar when opportunities do emerge! <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are also many websites that list volunteer opportunities. The best place to start is with TUN\u2019s job search engine<\/a>, where you can find hundreds of volunteer positions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The benefits of volunteering<\/a> are endless. Not only will you develop practical skills and make valuable connections that may benefit your future career, but you will also feel empowered, humbled, and transformed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mentors are crucial when it comes to learning how to pursue your passions. Just like it would be difficult to learn calculus without a math teacher, it is much harder to turn your passion into a career without the guidance of someone who has done it before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember earlier in the article when I told you to connect with the adults in your life and ask if you can shadow them? Well, reconnect with the one whose career excited you the most and ask them to be your mentor. It doesn\u2019t have to be a formal thing. Your mentor is mostly there to give you advice when making decisions that may impact your future career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also worth noting that you can (and should) have more than one mentor. As you further pursue your passion, you\u2019ll meet people along the way who you can pick up as mentors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you know what you\u2019re passionate about, you shouldn\u2019t let what others are doing impact your personal decisions. Instead of following the pack and doing what your friends do, enroll in the groups, activities, and classes that interest and will be appropriate for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\nExplore what your school and\/or community has to offer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Take online courses<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Talk to your parents, teachers, and family friends <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 2:<\/strong> Pursue your passions <\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
High school internships<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Volunteer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Find a mentor<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Focus on what is best for you<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n