Vocational Questions

What is the greatest failure you’ve experienced in your life?

One of my greatest failures was something I noticed just this year as a freshman in college. I started to choose other things over my own mental health which was one of the greatest failures I have experienced in my life. I lost all motivation to do homework, participate in choir and track, and even lost the motivation to go to class. By doing this I failed myself and let myself down and others in the end. At first, I just over booked myself so I was unable to deal with any mental health issues I was experiencing. It was about February when it started to affect me physically and not just mentally anymore. I was exhausted and mentally drained when I finally told my roommate that she needed to hold me accountable for ignoring my mental health on a daily basis and she helped me make an appointment with CAPS. Recognizing my own mental health issues was one of the hardest things I have had to overcome this year and I will never fail myself like that again. It set me back in life for a few months and I was unable to thrive here at SNC like I am now.

Are you called to creative work? If so, how do you recognize that calling? If not, to what do you feel called to?

I do not always feel called to creative work but something that helps me get into a creative mood has always been and always will be music. I have been called to music my entire life because of the town I grew up in and the family that surrounded me. I have loved music from a very young age especially singing whether it’s in my room, at choir, or with my dad’s band. Singing is something I really enjoy and often resort to if I am stressed or feeling overwhelmed. I started singing when I was about 4 years old with my dad and older sister at his acoustic gigs in downtown Hastings. Since then I have continued to sing in choir since I was in 4th grade till now as a freshman in college. Singing is something I am able to enjoy and be myself when I do it and it truly is one of my callings. I do not have many ways to deal with my stress and I do not know what I would do without having music constantly around me. As I have grown I have learned to appreciate this calling more and more and so have the people around me even though singing in front of people is not the easiest thing to do. It has brought me out of my shell as a person from time to time and it is a gift I would not give up for anything.