There’s a wonderful demotivational picture on despair.com with a rusty looking boat half sunk into the sea. The caption reads: “Mistakes — It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.” 

Somebody showed me that picture years ago after I had left Iowa State and began a four-year struggle as a college dropout. But it also got me thinking about my life and where I had gone wrong.

Actually, dropping out of college wasn’t where things fell off the tracks. That was simply a symptom of the problem. The real problem was that I had not listened to my gut instinct earlier, that I had pursued higher education simply for the money rather than following my passion. My gut had told me this sometime late in my first year here at Iowa State. 

Many of you out there have just completed your first year at Iowa State. You might be a freshman just about to become a sophomore. You might even be a transfer student. Heck, you might have already spent a couple years here and are still wondering what to you with your life. 

In any case, now is the time to do a gut check and ask yourself: “Am I in the right place? Am I content with what I am doing? Am I following my passion?”

I suggest you find someplace quiet to reflect on these questions. If you “feel” that the answer to these questions is “yes,” then congratulations! May you find prosperity in your endeavors.

But if the answer is “no” and you ignore that feeling, then you might be on the verge of making a big mistake. 

I made that mistake. I knew after my first year at Iowa State that Journalism: Electronic Media Studies was not for me. My experiences did not live up to my expectations of the program. I will not recount those experiences here because they happened years ago and do not necessarily reflect the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication as it is today. 

I had my gut check and knew deep down that I did not belong at Iowa State, not just in journalism, and perhaps I needed to go elsewhere. 

Instead, I ignored my gut and switched to Business Management: Entrepreneurship. I wanted to make money to make up for lost time. People gave me grief for that. They also gave me grief because I had also joined Quixtar/Amway. My adventure in Amway lasted for about six months. I remember in one mass meeting being told, “If you are not making money, then that means you are not right with God.” Wow. Yeah, I quit shortly after that. 

Some months after that I had quit Iowa State too. Being a college dropout was certianly an eye-opening experience to say the least. There is nothing quite like the “real world” and its school of hard knocks to make somebody mature fast. I think everybody, right after high school, should work for a year or two or join the military so they can really appreciate the opportunity of higher education. 

One night in the spring of 2007, I had another gut feeling, this time in the form of intense pain, pain so great that I broke out into a sweat. My extremities went numb and my body felt cold. I even unlocked the door to my apartment so that anybody who would find my body would not have a difficult time doing so. Fortunately, in the morning I woke up feeling fine — and more appreciative of life.

I knew then that I had to go back to Iowa State to pursue and hone my passion for writing. I later graduated with two degrees, one in history and the other in English. And on May 4, 2012, I will get my Master of Arts in history. Along the way I discovered a new passion, teaching. I’ve also been given opportunities for writing that I never thought would come my way, such as writing columns for the Daily, for example. The next step for me is teaching classes and writing books. It has been a long road, but I am finally here. 

So wherever you are in life, take a moment to do a gut check and then listen to your feelings. If you’re the more rational type, make a list of pros and cons of your situation and act accordingly. While life will always have its ups and downs, you don’t want to end up in a rut, shut off from your passion or passions. As I discovered, such misery can last for years and can be physically harmful (just ask anybody who endures long-term stress and stomach ulcers). 

Then you need to listen to your gut and do what your gut says.  It might be difficult or intimidating at first (let’s face it, it is a big decision, and that’s an understatement), and there will be obstacles, but the alternative is to live an unfulfilled life, miserable. 

So follow your passion.