The Time Bob Ross Told Me How to Pick a Major

Everybody, meet Bob Ross. Painter, teacher and Afro extraordinaire. This is the man who has entertained, soothed, and inspired an entire generation of aspiring painters (and people like me who find great amusement in failing and 'Bob humor'). He is also the man who taught me how to go about the all so scary task of selecting a major in college. Here is the secret to it all. (As stated by Bob).

"Talent is just pursued interest."

Love how I quote Charles Dickens one day and Bob Ross the next? I do ;) Okay, so maybe Bob Ross wasn't actually referring to giant life decisions, but I think his statement is 100% applicable. Stick with me for a bit of background here, this is important. 

First, you need to understand something about my high school experience. Davis High is huge, my graduating class alone had over 800 students. And because there were so many kids milling around, people told me that I had to find my 'thing' or else I would inevitably get lost in the crowd. That terrified me. Everyone seemed to be categorized into their 'thing'. Sports, theater, academics, music, whatever--everyone had something. It freaked me out when I did not. I was so scared I wasn't going to find that one 'thing.' My inherent talent that would set me apart from the rest. This part of the story is really a whole another post, so for now I'll just make a long story short: I made the Dance Company and joined the newspaper staff and those became my 'things.' Phew, I dodged the bullet. Right?

Well at least the first round of bullets. Now I graduate high school and go to college. Questions of what is the 'right' school, what I am 'supposed' to do fill your head with the intensity of reality. For while you can cower in the blissful bubble of general education classes, but before you know it, that bubble bursts and drops you headfirst into probably the biggest decision you've ever tried to make. As the walls of my own protective bubble began to thin, I hesitantly chose to pursue one of my 'things' from high school--writing. 

Now, I had never considered myself a writer. It was initially just something I enjoyed because it earned me high marks in school and I loved seeing my name in print. After earning English Sterling Scholar and newspaper editor, I began to assume this was something I was good at. And it seemed other people began to assume it too. No one seemed surprised when I would say I was majoring in writing. I got, and still get, a lot of, 'Oh yeah of course, you'll be great at that.' So I kept going! My desire and drive to compose words doesn't come because of some inner talent I'd pulled out of a hat. It is not something I feel especially 'called' or 'destined' to do. Rather, it is an interest I choose to pursue in the hopes of creating a talent.

Talent is just pursued interest.

Bob knows what he is talking about friends. I think we all get so caught up in finding our 'thing', our passion, that we over analyze and deliberate every little action to the point of inaction. I see it in my own life all the time. I've come to know, however, that we can't obsess over making perfect decisions in every little aspect of our lives. If we keep searching, searching, searching for our talent, passion, calling, whatever you want to call it, frustration will be the end result. Calm down! I don't believe that life awards us just one slim path to success and if we miss it by some narrow degree of inaccuracy all is lost. Prayerfully ponder the question ahead of you and then go for it. As I once heard, God cannot steer a parked car. I am reminded of a quote from Elder Scott last conference:

"I remind all of us that the Holy Ghost is not given to control us. Some of us unwisely seek the Holy Ghost's direction on every minor decision in our lives. This trivializes His sacred role. The Holy Ghost honors the principle of agency."

We humans want the final answer wrapped up with a pretty bow delivered to our doorstep by a bolt of lightening, not the questioning, working, and exploring it usually takes to find it. So pursue an interest. Don't hold yourself back waiting for passion to come and seize your heart and move your feet. Because it probably won't. Life happens when we move our feet, not when our eyes scan the horizon. I LOVE this quote from President Monson about that spirit of exploration:

"God left the world unfinished for man to work his skill upon. He left the electricity in the cloud, the oil in the earth. He left the rivers unbridged and the forests unfelled and the cities unbuilt. God gives to man the challenge of raw materials, not the ease oAf finished things. He leaves the pictures of unpainted and the music unsung and the problems unsolved, that man might know the joys and glories of creation."

I don't know if my current interest will actually produce the fruits of talent. Heck, I may switch my major to biological engineering before this is all over with. (okay.... I think we can at least rule out bio engineering haha.) But I have decided to confidently step in this direction, trusting that I will be given course corrections as I need them. My anxieties over the future are still as real as Bob's hair is fluffy, and they overwhelm me at times, but I am learning to control them. I find defying their nagging voices and moving forward in life so they can't catch me to be a solid tactic.

One last plug on this idea. As a college student, I have watched my fair share of  Ted and Tedx Talks. But one has trumped them all others in influence, impact and invitation to act: Stop Searching for Your Passion from Terri Trespicio. It is only ten minutes long and worth every second. Here is one of my favorite quotes from the talk:

"Just start doing because to live a life full of meaning and value, you don't follow your passion. Your passion follows you."

Thanks Bob Ross. Between you and Charlie, I just might be able to figure this out :)








P.S. I apologize for the overuse of apostrophes, I was trying to emphasize a point. Also, another link to Ted Talk. Seriously please watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MBaFL7sCb8