Galen R.
Photo contributed by Galen Roy
If you’re reading this, it's okay if you haven’t found your thing.
You know those people who were born knowing that they wanted to be a veterinarian? Or the ones that told you they wanted to be a doctor when they were 5, and still want to be a doctor?
Yeah, well I was never one of them.
It’s not like I don't have any interests. I love art and travel. Psychology is fascinating. I’m really good at math. I secretly think chemistry is kind of fun. And I’m obsessed with healthy food. Honestly, if it paid a little better, I’d want to be a teacher. But I’m not really sure what I’d want to teach.
With tears in my eyes and a deep hatred for all the future veterinarians, I called my mom. She listened to every single one of my anxieties, frustrations, and fears, and at the end of it she said:
“Sweetheart, I’m 52 and I still don’t know what I want to do with my life. But, there is something that my mother once told me when I was having this same crisis. She told me to just pick something. Pretend that it's your thing. Pretend that you’ve wanted to be it, do it, make it, believe in it since the moment you knew what it was.”
“But what if I pick wrong?” I countered.
“Well, when you’ve walked far enough down one path to realize that you’ve picked wrong, just take a left turn, and start again.’”
It was the dumbest advice that I had ever heard, but I was at the end of my rope for uncertainty so I took it. I walked back to my dorm and made a list of everything I was interested in. I taped it to the wall, closed my eyes and threw a dart at it.
It landed on neuroscience. That sent me right into the transfer portal, looking for schools with a strong undergraduate program. My first semester, I took the introductory course, started doing my own research, and landed on a book called “This is your brain on Food” by Uma Naidoo, the founder of the food psychology field. (Highly recommend it if you're at all interested in nutrition or mental health!)
I was captivated. What a simple solution to such complex struggles. If food could change the neurological signals in our brains, and alter our mental states, what else could it do?
From there I took a left turn and walked down a lot of different paths. Functional Medicine doctor, Microbiology research, Regenerative Agriculture farming, sustainable food system consulting, nutrition internships, corporate social responsibility, wellness focused venture capital firms, etc.
Now, I’m a little bit lost in the world of food, medicine, and nature. I have no idea what my career is going to look like, I’m terrified that I am never going to be able to financially support myself, but I do know that I’ve finally found my thing.
Galen R., Vanderbilt University
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