I want to read your story to my eldest, 16 years old, who says he is struggling to find what he really wants to do with his life (career choices etc). He is a good kid. The truth is, I am going to read that story again mostly for me too.
I didn't know at 16 what I wanted from my life either ... but I spent a good decade in my 20s "going with the flow", rudderless. I wish I had been more awake to my possibilities then. I don't regret those years completely, I became a father when I had him in those years. But ... it would have been nice to be told that your brain's plasticity is more forgiving earlier than later. :-)
What an excellent piece. I am reading this to my kids.