This week, I attended Julia Felippe’s talk “Crossing the Ocean: For a Career, For a New Life.” She spoke about how she moved form Sao Paulo, Brazil to study veterinary medicine in the US and basically never went back. Actually, one of the funny moments form her talk was how she would be on the phone with her parents, and they’d ask when she would come back to which she responded that it would be in a year or two, until they eventually realized that she was going to stay. In fact, I think her talking about these conversations with her parents gave some imagery to the theme of what her whole talk was about, which was that her path was not necessarily very rigidly planned. It was not that she was being untruthful when telling her parents she would be back soon, it is that she didn’t necessarily know when she would return because she was keeping herself open to the different opportunities life could present at any given time.
Hearing about Professor Felippe’s ever changing path was truly inspiring for me. It really invoked in me comfort in not knowing exactly which direction I want to go in yet. One of the memorable pieces of advice she gave was “not to over think or obsess about whether the job/position for you is the one you’re supposed to be in.” I found this very impactful for being in our Cornell community in particular where we can feel pressured to be engaging in activities that serve legitimate purposes for our long term goals or careers right now. Ultimately, statements like these throughout the evening really helped fortify me and assure me to just trust the process and lend myself to all the different opportunities this time in my life could entail if I let it.
It’s always reassuring to hear about people who have gone through life without a solid, pre-determined plan and have still found success and fulfillment. I feel like there’s way too much stress on students nowadays to know exactly what they’ll be doing and where they’ll be in 5, 10 years, but it’s important to know that unplanned opportunities can bring about the most amazing experiences 🙂
I agree! I have always like to plan stuff out, it is a way that I reduce my stress; however, overtime I’ve seen that things don’t (or perhaps never) work out the way you planned them. This has terrified me for quite a long time. Hearing Dr. Felippe’s life story just showed how well life can turn out when oppportunities rise out of nowhere. I really enjoyed this life story and the advice Dr. Felippe gave.
Hearing about your experience makes me wish that I had the time to make the event. I’ve also felt unsure about my path after college and onwards and I think it would have been fascinating to hear the experience of someone who has had one of the most unconventional paths. I appreciate your thoughts!
Hi! Thanks for your comment! And I definitely relate to being unsure about my path after college. I think (and also what I kind of grasped from Professor Felippe’s talk) that the being unsure part is less something we should be worried about and more something we can learn to enjoy. This is the time in our lives to be unsure, and perhaps we can use some of that uncertainty to inform our decisions and choices moving forward and as we get older, rather than feeling pressured when making decisions because we want to be sure about them!
I really enjoyed your comments as well. The talk sounds fascinating, and it is reassuring to know that life can change, and you don’t have to have it all planned out from the beginning. I think it is powerful to hear someone’s experiences with this, as makes it more concrete and easier to see in your life than just general advice.