The Heart is Not a Knee

“The heart is not a knee that can be bent.”

Whew Chile. If this doesn’t say it all, I don’t know if this will help you! We seek the things which bring us joy, things that fill our hearts, and nothing will fulfill us but those things. I remember when I enrolled in undergrad as a Journalism with a focus on eventually studying law. It was a sound major, one that my mother ensured me would yield great financial stability and even greater status. I did not want to be a lawyer. I told her this on several occasions. I did not want to be a lawyer. She insisted, pushing that since I liked to write, this would be a way to write and not starve. Every day, all summer, she kept on about how I would be happier and would be able to take care of a family (and her, let’s not leave that out) if I chose this field. Begrudgingly, I selected Journalism a few weeks before orientation and satisfied my mother that all would be well for my future and hers.

Two semesters later, in Introduction to News Writing, my professor was enjoying destroying every news piece I submitted for a grade. His constant criticism? Too descriptive, too flowery. Well damn, I thought I was writing to capture my audience! Finally, after a few poor assignments and my ego wildly deflated, I sought out the professor for more detailed feedback. He told me that my writing was good, but it did not have the journalistic, objective style necessary for the field. I countered that I wanted to write op-ed pieces (we know them now as “think pieces”), and I always saw them as having flair. He leaned in to me and said, with all seriousness, “then you want to be an English major.” I left his office and went straight t o the registrar and had my major changed. The amount of joy that washed over me—I finally was reunited with my true love.

So be it a career, a relationship, a life transition, there is no way to bend the heart. You can try for a while, but eventually you will return to your love again.