Passion or Practicality?
“Your passion won’t put food on the table.”
“That course you chose is useless.”
“Passion? You call that passion? What a joke.”
Words that sound all too familiar to me.
I keep hearing these two words:
PASSION.
PRACTICALITY.
And whenever people talk about what course you should take or what career you should pursue, it almost feels like you always have to choose between the two.
Passion, if you want to pursue something you genuinely love.
Practicality, if you want to make sure you have a job, an income, and enough to support yourself.
But what if you want both?
I spent a long time thinking about what I really wanted to pursue.
When I was in junior high school, I wanted to become a flight attendant. Back then, I thought that was what I wanted to be. But as I grew older, I also began to understand myself better. I slowly discovered things I enjoyed more—things I felt I could be good at, and things that felt more like they were meant for me.
That’s when I found Communication Arts.
But when you say “Communication Arts,” it doesn’t exactly sound as “fancy” as some other degrees.
People ask what kind of job you’ll get after graduating. Some even say that you could just teach yourself the things you learn in the course anyway.
And sometimes, it comes down to:
“That course you chose is useless.”
Maybe it’s because people have different ideas of what success looks like.
For some, success might mean having an impressive title attached to your name—doctor, engineer, architect, lawyer, nurse, and so on.
And there’s nothing wrong with that.
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There’s nothing wrong with being practical. There’s nothing wrong with aiming high, either.
But to me, success shouldn’t be measured by those things alone. Just because a career doesn’t sound as prestigious doesn’t mean it has no value.
To me, success also means being able to do something that makes you happy, something that gives you a sense of purpose, while still being able to build the kind of life you want.
And choosing Communication Arts doesn’t mean that’s where all my dreams have to end.
Actually, I already have another plan.
After finishing my degree in Communication Arts and becoming financially stable, I want to go back to school.
I want to become a lawyer someday.
So no, I don’t have to choose one dream and forget about the others.
I can love something while still thinking about how to become financially stable.
I can make room for both passion and practicality.
Maybe that’s where we sometimes get it wrong.
When we can’t see ourselves doing something, it’s easy to assume that it has no value.
Some people find Philosophy boring. Others find History boring. There are things people dismiss simply because they don’t see the value in them.
But I don’t think that way.
Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean it has no value. Maybe Communication Arts is the same.
They don’t see themselves there, so they don’t understand why I can see myself there.
And maybe that’s what I want to say to everyone who thinks you have to choose.
I’m not saying being practical is wrong.
I’m not saying passion alone is enough to survive.
But I hope we don’t use practicality as a reason to belittle someone else’s dreams.
Not every dream has to look impressive in someone else’s eyes.
Sometimes, you just have to choose the place where you can see yourself.
And if you can be practical while doing something you love—
