Choosing a Path Aligned with My Heart
When I was in college, I struggled deeply with what degree to choose.
My father wanted me to become an engineer — a dream he had always carried but never reached.
As a highly sensitive person, I didn’t just hear his words; I felt his hopes echoing inside me. His voice, his emotions, and even his unspoken expectations seemed to sit heavily on my shoulders. It wasn’t just pressure — it felt like I was carrying his dream in my own body. And part of me wanted to do it, to honor him, to give him the life he never had through my choices.
But when the time came to make a decision, I paused and asked myself: What about me? If I lived his dream, I would have to abandon my own. And for someone like me — who longs for authenticity, meaning, and inner alignment — that would have only led to emptiness and regret.
So, with fear in one hand and courage in the other, I chose education, because teaching was my passion. It wasn’t the “practical” choice, and it certainly wasn’t the path others expected of me. But it was the one that felt alive inside my heart. It was the path that allowed my sensitivity, my empathy, and my love for connecting with others to thrive.
Looking back, that choice taught me something life-changing: being highly sensitive means you can’t live for someone else’s definition of success. On the outside, you might appear accomplished. But on the inside, without authenticity, you would wither.
As HSPs, we need more than a safe or “respectable” path. We need to follow the one that feels true — because that is where we find joy, peace, and purpose.
Self-awareness means recognizing when you’re carrying someone else’s dream and having the courage to choose your own.
— Shared by Weng
