WNRS: Do you believe everyone has a calling? If so, do you think I've found mine?

Recently, I finally played the infamous, intimate card game We're Not Really Strangers. The purpose of the card game is to "empower meaningful connections with others", according to the creator of the We're Not Really Strangers (WNRS) platform and movement, Koreen. I was familiar with WNRS due to my habit of saving inspirational, deep quotes and questions on Pinterest (WNRS questions eventually infiltrated my feed's algorithm). Having never actually played the card game, I was excited about the idea of potentially forming a deeper connection with someone, but slightly nervous at the unpredictability of the other player's answers due to how personal and often times, blunt, the questions would be.

The WNRS card game is split into three levels of cards that ask increasingly more intimate/personal questions as you move to the next level, and incorporates wildcards that prompt you to perform different tasks (e.g., Show the first photo on your camera roll and explain its backstory). To give an idea of the fluctuation of vulnerability in this game, a level 1 question I picked up was, "Do I look like more of a dog or cat person?" versus a level 3 question, "What has this conversation taught you about yourself?". To play this game successfully, you need to be okay with being completely honest to the other player(s), and you also need to be willing to hear their honest opinions, perceptions, and feelings about you. After playing, I felt more connected to the other player and thought the We're Not Really Strangers game was a unique, special idea to get to know someone through questions that might not organically arise in everyday conversations.

A few days had passed since I played WNRS, and one of the questions that stood out to me the most was the title of this post, "Do you believe everyone has a calling? If so, do you think I've found mine?". Coincidentally, this was a similar question I asked myself shortly before playing the game. Not knowing my life's calling (i.e., purpose) has been a static insecurity of mine which seemingly began as I graduated from college four years ago. I graduated college with a solid 'B' average GPA. Initially, I was just happy to check college off of the list of things expected of me to do in life. As I experienced denials from job opportunities, as well as a graduate program due to my transcript and lack of experience in a particular field, I worried that maybe I failed at finding my calling and it was too late. If I couldn't narrow down my interests to just one dream career, or if I didn't stand out in one particular field, how could I ever figure out what my life's purpose is?

I have friends who knew by early high school they would be a doctor when they grow up, co-workers who majored and excelled in the subject they have a career in now, and others who just happened to stumble into their calling and continue to thrive, as if the universe decided it was time for them to find theirs. I felt like once I finally achieved something deemed as impressive to others, then and only then I would know I found my life's purpose. However, as I explained my life's purpose dilemma and solution to my therapist last year, he offered me pieces of wisdom that are still ingrained in me today. He suggested that a "life's purpose" is not necessarily a tangible achievement. You don't need a certain degree, a certain job title, a certain income, to live in a certain place, or a documentable moment in life to have found your calling.

As a society that is structured by social stratification (side note: this was very interesting to research, as well as "symbolic interactionism"), we place massive amounts of pressure amongst ourselves to achieve certain accomplishments to prove our worth and status. However, that is a topic I could write in-depth about in another post. Rather than trying to strive towards one of the aforementioned achievements to feel complete, or like I reached my life's calling, I acknowledged the other forms a life's purpose could take such as experiences, connections, and revelations. To me, your life's calling can be finding your soulmate and growing old with them, becoming a parent and seeing your kids become parents, traveling the world and experiencing different cultures and expanding your perceptions, going on a journey of self-discovery that lasts your entire lifetime, spending more time fueling your passions, and so much more; the possibilities of a life's purpose are infinite. Although, seemingly contradictory to my stance on one's life calling, I do think some people's callings are tangible, measureable achievements. Some people are truly meant to find their calling through their career, education, or belongings - and that is amazing too.

To answer the question if I think everybody has a calling, and if I think I've found mine: Yes, I believe everyone has a specific purpose in life, and no, I don't think I have found mine yet, but I think I'm on the brink of finding it. As of right now, I have a feeling my life's purpose is to continue traveling the world, to meet people who positively shape me, inspire me, and teach me something (about the world or myself) ... and to keep discovering what brings me the most joy in life. From my Pinterest board: Comparison is the thief of joy. Your purpose in life is up to you and you alone to define and discover.