[RilmAlime67]

hey liam,
i'm the same age and in a pretty similar situation. all i can say is that opportunities will come to you and it's up to you to decide how you follow through with them. pick the path that really moves you, hang around with the people that make you feel really alive, who excite and inspire you. i've declined a significant opportunity recently because i had dreamed of the scenario before, and perceived it leading me towards a significantly negatively polarized future. so now i'm left pretty well much just doing my thing, going to class, hanging out with a core group of awesome, thoughtful people, and the usual studying, writing and working.
opportunities always arise and sources of inspiration are all around us. i found the other day that as one becomes more attuned with 1) yourself, the spirit-mind-body complex 2) others of the same, even plants, rocks as in honestly listening to your and others dialogue, the intuitive kicks in when the rigidity of the mind gives way to a more receptive (though ethical and highly conscientious) state of being. i think that's a pretty important thing to garner, because so much of fulfilling your life's purpose is beyond the left-brain orientation which seeks to define and master. your purpose cannot be defined, your mission is beyond comprehension, but it will reveal itself when you allow yourself to follow your heart.
most of all, follow it without fear. i found the only way i can raise a question in a lecture hall is to just formulate an idea and raise my hand, which usually blanks out my mind. it's easy to become afraid of this, but i find doing the opposite (over-thinking a question, going it over and over in my mind, thinking about raising my hand, then feeling that all too common surge of nervousness and deciding otherwise) to be far worse than the uncertainty of just following your spirit. most of the time, i articulate the right words, convey the right idea that i was thinking and it seems to come together.
have you heard of [please email for name] schools? i was researching them a couple of months back (randomly? i think not ), but yesterday after raising a question in class regarding alternative methods of education, one of my classmates mentioned it. so i think they're could be something there...and demonstrates that inspiration is all around you when you live from the heart and without fear, and that opportunities will sometimes only come when you have chosen not to embark upon less savoury paths and instead remaining on the path, forging ahead.
my intuition has told me this year is going to be crucial in solidifying the nature of my future and perhaps even humanity on the level of mass consciousness...and how the events surrounding 2012 will be shaped by the psychological shifts we make right now.