The Purpose of Life

As we grow older in life, we tend to seek meaning for everything that's going on. As children, our lives revolve around toys and our imaginary worlds and friends. Then we grow up and our world becomes our real-world friends and our studies. When we mature and become adults, our lives tend to become less focused. We chase after these dreams and goals. We enter the world where we have to fend for ourselves- get a job, pay bills. Somehow, we have to make it work. Then we begin to wonder- is this really all there is to life?

This is a question that has been in my mind for sometime over the past few weeks when the reality of my graduation and unemployment started sinking in. What am I doing with my life?

My typical non-work day revolves around looking for jobs on weekdays, and in between searching for jobs I also watch some TV and read the news. On weekends I simply laze around the house and enjoy the day. Watch a movie on my laptop perhaps. On work days I simply work. That's all there is to my life- whether I work, or whether I look for work. Life is very much less meaningful to say the least.

The thought of my life not having much purpose hit me hard. It was really quite an eye-opener to realise that a year ago, I at least still had other things in my life. Now, I really have nothing. I briefly considered doing other things- travelling, finding other opportunities overseas. I look at people who have achieved something in their youth. Perhaps by volunteering, or travelling overseas, they gained a new perspective of life. That's something I heavily considered for a while.

And I definitely still want to do it. I want to travel and see the world. I want to make a difference, and come back knowing that through all my travels, through all my experiences, I learned about people, life and can contribute even more.

Travel- experiences that changes your life and provides clarity

So with that in mind, I have set a goal. At the top of the list, nothing has changed- I need to get a job. Something that I can save some money with, and hopefully, just hopefully, I would have some money to travel by year's end or the beginning of next year. It doesn't have to be a long trip like I envisioned it to be, but I think that the notion of working towards something has always been what being human is all about. We grow and we learn as we move towards our life goals.

I know that realistically, that might not happen at all. I might still be very much stuck in unemployment. But at the very least, I would have something to think about in my life beyond looking for a job. Now, it's looking for a job to actually do something, and it has a deadline. To be honest, that is quite a daunting goal. But whether I succeed or not, at least there is something in my life beyond what it is now.