With the end of school in sight, it will soon be time to say goodbye to another group of seniors.

As they are busy finishing up the details of the last few days of high school careers, it is natural to question them about final plans for what they will do once they graduate. It seems the expectation is that each will have a plan in place that readies them to reach infinity and beyond. That sounds great but, in reality, many still have no clear idea what they really want to do, just as it was for many of us at that age.

There is plenty of well meaning advice floating around, such as, “Do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life,” or “find something you are passionate about and the money will follow.” Nice thoughts, I agree, but, could it really be that simple?

One young adult I know said he tried to follow this advice but after a while realized there was no money in riding his bike around the lake and fishing for small mouth bass all day.

There are exceptions, of course, but most of the time really fun hobbies do not make a living.

And, I think it is assuming quite a lot to expect young people to have figured out what they are passionate about by the end of high school. Being a late bloomer, no doubt, I am still working on my final answer for this category even though I have been out of school for, well, let’s just say for “awhile.” Meanwhile, I still have had to do something to help support myself. I think the jobs I had early on were very educational. They related only to my “passion” in that they clarified what it wasn’t.

My very first job was helping at a bait farm. You know those little white Styrofoam containers of worms that you buy when you go fishing? Well, I happened to have some idea of how those orders get filled. It’s not something I care to dwell on for long. And, next came my stint working the night shift at a poultry processing plant. That summer, between my sophomore and junior years, I determined that I would never, ever, under any circumstances be a high school dropout. Next, I worked a short while at a plant that made frozen TV dinners. I nearly passed out from motion sickness while attempting to place frozen meatballs on the trays as they, unrelentingly, one after another, after another, after another passed by me on a conveyor belt. I knew right away that was not my passion either.

I think those jobs, however painful at the time, helped me quite a bit. While directing me away from job choices I didn’t care for, I developed the drive and commitment needed to complete the degree that gave me the opportunity to participate in a field I find very interesting and fulfilling.

Does that mean I always “love” and feel “passionate” about my job? Not every minute, of course, but I can’t even say that about my hobbies, either. That is more reflective of reality, I think.

For young people trying to decide on a course of life to pursue, taking advantage of opportunities to try some different things could be an important step. Some will be fun, some will be fulfilling and some will be dreadful. They all help us learn things about ourselves and may lead to discovery of a path to a great occupation we didn’t even know existed. Sometimes it helps to rule out a few things first. At least that’s been my experience.

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Annette Rowe is a freelance writer from rural Gentry and a speech-language pathologist at Siloam Springs High School. She may be reached by email at [email protected].

Opinion, Pages 6 on 05/08/2013