I seem to surround myself with people who know what it is they want to do in life, or at least pretend to. Personally, I have no idea. But I keep reminding myself that I'm 19, and that there's no hurry. I suppose I feel such pressure because I didn't go through things in the normal way. If I had stayed in England (where I'm originally from) then I would have taken my GCSEs and gone on to specialize in something. We moved to America, to Los Angeles, when I was 12, just in time for middle school. I stayed in school until I was 16, which in England would have been fine. In America however, they tend to think that your life ends if you don't graduate college, let alone high school. Never the less, I did leave school when I was 16.
The thing is, I hated school. I felt suffocated and lost there. The teachers kept explaining to me that I would have no future unless I succeeded in their classes, but no matter how hard I tired, I just didn't care enough to pay attention. There wasn't a moment in the entire four and a half years I spent in the place that I knew who I was, let alone felt like myself. I remember one teacher telling me that I seemed to dance to the beat of my own drum, the only problem was that nobody else could hear the music.
So, I left, and spent two years working before going to community college where I currently am now. While the route I tool was certainly unorthodox in Los Angeles, and had, I will admit, it's lonely moments, I have never regretted it for a moment. In the past three years I have learnt more about myself, and life, than in my entire life up to the tender age of 16. Of course non of that would have been possible without my parents, who supported and guided me every step of the way. But the thing is, while everybody I knew in high school has two years left of college, I feel some kind of pressure to know what it is that I'm supposed to do with my life. The things is though, I don't.
I mentioned my parents. My name is Kate, and my Dad, Ken Robinson, who wrote the book in the picture above. He has written several books before The Element, but I have to admit that this is the first one that I've read. My dad travels the World talking about how schools stifle creativity. Instead of reading my paraphrases, you can watch speaking at the TED conference here:
The Element is about how finding your passion changes everything. When you're in your
element, everything else seems to flourish, but that the vast majority of us go through life without ever knowing what it is that we're truly good at. These are things that my father has been telling me for years, and things that I feel very passionately about.
It wasn't until I actually read The Element though, that everything seemed to come in on me properly. I was instantly inspired. I signed up for as many different classes as I possibly could, from sewing to Yoga Booty Ballet (a fusion of yoga, ballet and cardio, which I'm very excited for!). The book is an encouragingly easy read, but I promise that afterwards your life will never be the same.
I say all of this as his daughter. I have spent my whole life hearing these things, and I was completely jaded with it all. But The Element opened something inside for me. I want to find my true potential. But there is no hurry for me to declare what it is that I want to do with myself. I realized that the most exciting part of life is finding out.
You can find out more about the book at:
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