In my school days, we did not have Facebook asking us a hundred questions daily about what we like. What we had was a slam book — a journal with myriad of questions like "Your favourite actor", "Your favourite colour", "Describe yourself in five words". Everyone loved filling those slam books as they provided a vent, a catharsis, a sense of the self and a feel of being important. While filling the slam books, we were, fantastically, mini-celebs who were being interviewed.

In your younger days, when you think you know it all, the tone of the answers would often be heavy with certainty. As time passes, that categorical certainty is replaced by wiser soliloquies that say "I really don't know the answer to everything. Let's take it a day at a time."

One of the questions was most intriguing to all of us: "What will you be when you grow up?" or "Where do you see yourself in five years?" My answers varied from a doctor to a teacher and then from an MBA to a Chartered Accountant. Like many others, I exercised discretion with those answers which I thought would not be so impressive to others…answers like "All I ever want to be is a writer or singer. I want to get married and have a fun life. I want to travel the world and write travelogues. And all I have ever wanted to study is history, language and literature." My answers would be predictable. My career choices were the ones I was conditioned to make.

Age 10 onwards, every kid was and still is persistently asked what they are going to be when they grow up, which is actually not fair. There is an understated pressure. I grew up in an even more constricted age of more tapered ideas which dictated that if you are a bright student, you have to take either sciences or commerce studies. Humanities? They are for the 'second divisioners'. There was no concept of mixing subjects, of being allowed to have biology along with sociology and accounting. But then, that was the world back then; very black and white. A world of clear cut ways and presumed pathways in careers and in life in general.

Young adults today are in a better position. Exposure and awareness have given way to more informed decision making. Sharmeen Lari, a teacher at a business school, agrees. "Today's youngsters are lucky as they have a lot of choices available to them and there are professionals to guide them. The only people who were there to counsel us were older siblings."

Also, now there are many variants and probabilities in career choices. Many sought-after universities the world over in fact prefer students who have an eclectic mix of subjects. Things like extra-curricular activities, leadership traits and social awareness become added advantages when admission time arrives. Shenzeh Khurram who is currently an O-Level student, says, "We have more career choices. I have friends who want to be toy designers, computer game developers and food critics."

It would be unfair to say that the youth of today have it easier. With highly competitive, driven parents breathing down their necks and the pressure of getting it all can be exhausting and it is not easy. But having the chance to turn a passion into a profession is a huge one.

Those who did not choose their passion as their career regretted years later. Nida Raza has had an exceptionally successful career in consumer brand marketing in a multinational. Is this what she really wanted to do with her life? "Children today have more exposure and parents generally are receptive to different fields. When I was in A-Level, I chose business because nobody thought sociology was a worthwhile subject. I went to a business school because there were no writing or mass communication schools in Karachi. The only place where it was being offered was Karachi University which was not considered a cool place. Taking up business studies guaranteed a good career; writing didn't. I ended up in a profession I had to learn to like. Thoughts of quitting midway would hound me repeatedly," says Raza, and adds, "If I could go back in time, I'd pursue writing. I made someone out of myself but had I followed my dreams, I would have been a much more fulfilled person."

Sajid Ansari, an accountant, gives us a reality check. "I was born into a very conservative family and my decisions were made by my elders. In retrospect, I would have loved to have made my own choices. Often, reality is different from the ideals that we cherish in our young minds. Financial considerations not only affect one's choice of career but encompass one's whole paradigm of existence."

Dissatisfaction and regrets can suck away at your reservoir of creative and professional energy. "If you have no passion for what you do, you cannot produce desired results and excel," says teacher Fariha Abbasi Riaz, a mother of two. As a parent, Riaz wonders about the practicalities. "I have two daughters; the older one wants to be a doctor but the younger one wants to be a rock star princess. Now what do I do?" thinks aloud Riaz, voicing her dilemma.

Practicalities often make us take decisions that break something inside us, and make us live through compromises. As parents, we can help our children come to a middle ground where they can follow not just their passions but figure out what they are really good at. As my father would say, "One must motivate, not coerce." Motivate your child, and also yourself at any age, to choose what you are best at and to go ahead and do it. This is the art of living.

—Farahnaz Moazzam Zahidi