Every career has a traceable point of origin.

An old myth that’s been perpetuated for ages now is that by the time you’re an adult, you’ll just sort of magically know what it is you want to do with the rest of your life. If nobody else has told you, let me be the first: that’s a load of hogwash. Lots of people, potentially a majority, have no idea what their aspirations are well into adulthood. That’s not a bad thing; on the contrary, if you managed to chart out your entire life from adolescence, you may actually be missing out. If you need some direction toward your future, look toward your past.

People are expected to have a career path assembled for themselves by the time they’re done with high school, but most high schoolers don’t even know what they want for dinner on a given day, let alone how they’ll spend the rest of their lives. When you have the clarity in life brought about by age and experience, you can take a more objective look at what interests you and where your skills lie.

For example, maybe you decided to be a business major for practical purposes, but your favorite subject growing up was art. There’s plenty of time to refine any latent art skills and market yourself as an artist (which would become easier with acquired business skills). Even if you don’t become an artist, you can still get into a field that interests you in a different capacity.

More than anything, you should pursue a career path that makes you happy. Yes, making a good living is important, but it is equally important to find that balance between sustainability and passion. Think about what you did for fun as a kid, and ask yourself “can this translate into a career?” Even if all you did was watch TV, you’ve probably got enough miscellaneous pop culture knowledge stored in that noggin to become an entertainment writer. It’s all about widening that gap in the door, then getting your foot in it.