She designed a life she loved
"Everything you've ever wanted, you can have."
I came across an article the other day highlighting the Top Five Regrets of the Dying. "Living a life true to myself" and "letting myself be happier" were common themes. So many people make it through their lives not giving themselves the chance to fulfill their dreams. It's quite tragic.
This past year, I’ve come to embrace the fact that I can have everything I want in life. Maybe it’s the knowing-no-limit 20-year-old in me talking, but honestly, nothing should keep you from getting everything you’ve ever wanted – not your childhood, your parents, your financial status, your surroundings, your lack of formal education, or yourself. Some people live as if they’re born into the caste system or something, and don’t know any way out. The past is the past, and you make your own second chances. Why place limitations on your own life?
So change things if you have to. Make your own opportunities. That’s why people grow and evolve. No state of being is permanent, unless you settle. You choose your own happiness; you choose your own life. I see somebody else doing something cool and my immediate reaction is “I WANT TO DO THAT.” No hesitations, no boundaries. I’m always wanting more, and I’m always getting more. It's that simple.
I'm not defined by numbers or the words on my resume. Because I wasn't satisfied with introducing myself as "Sophia, 20-year-old Cal Poly architecture student," I created a new identity in a world I love. This website, Studio Sophy, is a documentation of my passions as well as an oasis far away the ugliness I face in the real world. (Discouragement, close-mindedness, skepticism = ugly.) I'm in full control here. I want to create a world so unique people are willing to escape to and fall in love with.
Last week I watched a TEDx Talk by John Green where he talked about modern methods of education. As a child, he never wanted a "good job" because the men who had "good jobs" woke up very early in the morning, tied nooses around their necks, and went off to work.
"That's not a recipe for a happy life." - John Green
I liked what he was getting at. This summer I may not be working a full-time job, although it seems like everyone and their mother is. (Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love working.) But if I was, I'd be doing something so banal and soul-draining, and slowly learning to depend on that income. And before I know it, my whole life would flash before my eyes and I'd be on my deathbed regretfully telling my grandkids I wasn't courageous enough to be true to myself and not live the life others expected of me.
I'm young and poor. Nothing is certain and the near future scares the crap out of me. Many days I feel like a complete idiot for not going the practical route and working my way into an established tried and true career path. But I don't want to live a lie and lie to myself. I want my life to be my own. I may be starting out rocky but I'm also unharmed by the plagued 9-to-5 work week and still dreaming. I love art and creating, and I love taking any chance I get to learn and practice the hell out of it.
