My Calling

     We often hear highly successful people talk about finding their "calling" early in life. It could be a student using a camera for the first time and feeling this instant draw towards photography. It could be a child watching his mother fight cancer and he discovers his passion for science/human research. Any moment, something inside of us can be triggered and our lives can be transformed. We can instantly feel a calling so strong that our lives readjust and focus on this one interest to the point of complete submersion. How and when we discover this desire and hope for our lives looks, feels, and develops differently for every person.
     My question is: how do we know if we've discovered our calling? I have felt many strong desires to intern with a company, apply for different leadership positions, and take risks to understand who I am and what I want out of life. Are one of those instances, organizations, or causes my lifelong calling?
     I was nominated for positions in my sorority of high honor. I had to decide whether to take one of those positions and dedicate the next year to my sorority, or to take a lesser position so that I could pursue my interests elsewhere. I called my dad (aka the voice of reason) and he asked me to describe the sorority positions that I was considering. Without realizing it, I deviated from the actual question and ended up talking my passion to give back and help others. I spoke about my desire to be an Orientation Leader (OL) to help and guide incoming freshmen. I spoke for a solid few minutes about how important the OL opportunity was to me--which would prevent me from pursuing a larger sorority position--and when I stopped for a moment to breathe I realized that I had already made up my mind... I was going to forgo a position of higher rank, so that I could pursue my passion to help others. My chances of becoming an OL are 1 in 1,000  (although I hope that I receive the position), but I have to try and I can feel in my heart that this is my calling.
     My calling is to help others, in any way that I can. I have been given so many opportunities, some that I have taken and some that I've passed up, but all of them have led me to this point. I am here for a reason and I can somehow feel that I can make a difference. Even if this calling lasts for just a few months or a year, my calling to help others will always be there. For me, that seems "right" enough.