This Is What You Need To Remember If You’re Trying To Make A Difference With Your Passions

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We live in a world of constant opposition. We’re told to go to school, find dependable jobs, and stick to the status quo. But then we’re encouraged to break the rules, pursue our dreams, and never settle.

We’re told that cubicles are restricting, that we shouldn’t work too much or too little, and that we need to free ourselves from the workplace mold. But then we’re advised to establish practical and financially smart careers.

We’re encouraged to be reliable and realistic. But then urged to be fearless in the pursuit of what we love.

In all of this, it’s difficult to know what and who we’re supposed to be. To know what the answers are, or if we’re doing the right thing.

But what we need to know, is that no choice is wrong. We can work salaried, nine-to-five office jobs, or we can be starving artists with part-time gigs on the side to make ends meet. We can be doctors or garbage men, first grade teachers or writers, stay-at-home parents or factory workers on the night shift. And all of these careers are good. None of these lifestyles are wrong or foolish, it just depends on what we feel strongly about, what we want in life.

Regardless of the paths we choose, we need to feel passion. We need to strive to make a difference. We need to believe that what we’re doing is important.

Because it is.

So this is for you—pursuing whatever career, whatever life you feel in your heart is important, know this: What you are doing and what you believe in matters.

You will always face opposition, this is guaranteed. Someone will shake their head at you and say you need to be freer, less stuffy, more open. Or more grounded, more stable, and less reckless. Someone will always have something to say, but know this: What you do matters.

Even if it seems like the entire world is against you, even if some days you feel purposeless, even if sometimes you stare at the clock on the wall and wonder what it all means. What you are doing matters.

Even if it’s just to one person, you are making a difference. And you can’t give up on that.

You might not know your impact, the lives you have touched, the feeling you have given someone on a day when he or she really needed it—but it’s there. And that is why you should fearlessly continue forward in whatever you’re passionate about. Because it’s important. Because it’s necessary.

In a world of haters—haters of the corporate world, haters of the non-traditional world—believe in yourself and what you love. Don’t be afraid to continue forward, to stand firm, and to oppose this life of opposition. Because all of this matters. You matter. Thought Catalog Logo Mark

Marisa is a writer, poet, & editor. She is the author of Somewhere On A Highway, a poetry collection on self-discovery, growth, love, loss and the challenges of becoming.

Keep up with Marisa on Instagram, Twitter, Amazon and marisadonnelly.com

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