How do you decide the kind of life you want to have? And, when do you decide this? A lot of people will answer “When you start working”. Another bunch will reply, “No, the moment you enter high school”. Another small crew will say, “Actually, the first day of school”. And, leaving the cuter answer for the last, some will add “When you’re born”.

Having so many different points of view is really confusing. So, let’s take the one provided by society in general: “The day you finish high school”. Why? Because of all that that implies: saying good bye to your friends, to your parent’s house, to your childhood… you know: the losing part, which makes any human being start worrying about who they are. And do I know about losing! I’m 19 years old and I’m on my second year of college. That would practically mean that my life started almost two years ago. And if that’s true, I can’t imagine a scarier way of starting a life. But I wasn’t worried, neither confused, because before I could start taking decisions on my own, I received… a welcome package!

Of course, the package was delivered to my parent’s house with a huge note to remind me the oldest world known pray: CARPE DIEM. Which means: Seize the day. In the upper side of the box it said Welcome to the rest of your life, please, use it properly. Inside, there was another box where it said I almost forgot! With properly I mean: don’t waste it!. Inside this box (and continuing the mamushka doll annoying situation) there was another box with a relieving last note: I mean… you’re young. You don’t understand how the world works. I putted the instructions inside this box. Read them and then you’ll understand everything. I finally opened the last box. And there it was. Nothing. Nothing at all. “But… but…” (I read the notes over and over again looking for a secret message ) “…what do I do now?”. Desperated, I ran for advise and all I got was “Study a career. Any kind”; “Get a job. Any kind”; “Do anything. But do it now!”

I’ll spoil the end of the story. There never were instructions. And, of course, the box never existed. At least not for me. I listened to the advises, the complains, the critics and finally made a decision. I’ll not say that “I know which career I want to pursue”, I’ll say it in a way that sounds more important:

I’ve decided that I want to make a life based on Public Relations.

Wow. It sounds pretty awesome, huh?

There are a lot of confusions about this career because it’s a little bit of being a Publicist, a little bit of being a Marketing Person and a little bit of being a Journalist. And that’s what I love about PR: you can do a little bit of everything, you can relate to any kind of professional and you can always go further. The sky is the limit!

OK, but, going back to Earth… what do we have in the negative side? Sometimes… you have to do a little bit too much of everything. What I’ve learnt in my 2 years as a PR student is that responsibilities only increase as time passes. I’ve seen extremely stressed PR teachers. I’ve seen how my dad, who is also a PR, and even being al calmed as he is, sometimes just can’t take the pressure. I’ve seen how at the end of the day, PR professionals finish their work with no strength left. And I’ve heard, more than once, “You won’t be able to handle the pressure”.

So, after seeing, hearing and knowing how hard being a PR can and will be… why in the world would I want to become one? Because I can. Because I want to handle the responsibilities. Because I want to prove that you can be under pressure without being pressured. Because I really want to go further. And sometimes, going further is not only about actions. Going further means letting you mind go abroad, convinced that it doesn’t matter what happens today… it’s worth it.

Good for us. Good for all the PR students around the world. But what happens to those who have another kind of job?

If there’s something no one can deny about the Slow Movement is its diversity. From the highest professional to his lowest subordinate can pursue a slower life, a slower way of living. The bright side? There’s not negative secondary effects.

It’s really scary to pursue a dream and make a life out of it. Billy Joel would say “Dream on. But don’t imagine they’llall come true”. And he’s probably right. But in the end, what’s important it’s not the kind of life you want to have, it’s what you do to have it. You can have dreams or pursue them.

I’m going for the second choice. What about you?

My latest blog at Huffington Post is on the power of Slow Thinking.