Ok, so it's been a while since my last visit here. I'm in the middle of a big move (actually it's been 2 moves) and things have been rather stressful - not much time for guitar playing and stuff...
So, sorry to pester you guys with this but I have a question.
I'm helping my cousin with a paper he has to do for his English class but I'm stuck on this one thing.
Is it correct to say:
"I found my determination!"
or is it
"I found my designation!"
You know.. when you wanna stress that you found your "purpose" in life...
Or is both wrong and you would say it differently?
(P.s. I know "I found my purpose!" is probably right, but he just used that word in the sentence before the one in question
and we would like to use another word)
I googled but could not find which one (if any) is right.
Thanks for your help...
Chris
determination would win over designation... but I'd suggest "calling" or "calling in life".
*edit: determination wins, imo, in the sense of "what I'm determined to do"... but honestly, neither really works if you're expressing a discovery of destiny or fate. I'd use calling if it was the discovery of what I wanted to do. if it was a discovery of what someone else decided I should do (and that I must do, even if against my will) I'd probably use fate.
Cool, thanks sheep.
It's more a case of that he found what he wanted to do out of his own will and is very happy with that decision.
So, it's not by force.
So, in that case, it's better to say "I found my calling!" right?
Btw, just so I know, "I found my purpose!" would theoretically work aswell?
Thanks again
yeah, that's it.
calling |kôli ng |
noun
1 the loud cries or shouts of an animal or person : the calling of a cuckoo.
2 a strong urge toward a particular way of life or career; a vocation : those who have a special calling to minister to others' needs.
a profession or occupation : he considered engineering one of the highest possible callings.
I dunno about "purpose" - the meaning is correct but I stay away from it just in case the reader/listener happened to see "The Jerk" (movie) at some point... heh.
Sheep's covered this well so I'll only add another option: "direction" as in "direction in life." As you've alluded to, it's always a good idea to avoid using the same word too many times in near proximity to each other. :)
Never be afraid to check an online dictionary for spelling or a word definition either. The link below includes an option for a Thesaurus so you can find synonyms (what you're trying to do here) and antonyms (words with an opposite meaning).
http://dictionary.reference.com/
Haha, thanks guys.
We ended up using 'calling'.
Craig, I actually used a dictionary and the synonyms tool and a lot of words popped up. I was just not sure which one would work for what we were wanting to say...
My bro thought we should use "determination" but I thought the better option was "designation" but was not sure.
Looks like we were both wrong...
Haha, actually that was pretty funny that you explained the words 'synonyms' and 'antonyms'.
For some reason, I was reading the last part of your post pretty slowly in my mind (in a rainman sort of way) and burst out with laughter when I read the explanations in the brackets...
Ok, so it was only funny to me...
If you wanted to use determination it would be a verb:
I determined my path; I determined my calling. Although those both sound strangeish.
In English, we generally use calling--often, it's a "true calling." In the clergy, they speak of a person being "called".
I found that creating miniature postage stamps was my true calling.
In the year 2006, he was called to serve the lord.
etc.
There are other ways to say it...
I found my path.
I discovered my career path.
I chose my career path.
Vocation also works in a very similar way as calling.
it depends on the nuance
Finding your destiny also works - but that has the subtlety of it being something external that has found you as much as you it.
"Come to the Dark Side, it is your destiny!" ;)
CraigBert — Jul 06, 2010"Come to the Dark Side, it is your destiny!" ;)
Lorraine, my density has brought me to you.
Or the reverse - same notion of externality though.
Lorraine has too much density for my liking (maybe she's from the Pacific Northwest?). ;D
Haha, still love BTTF!
It is your density!!!!!! ;D
Thanks guys, I feel pretty good about "calling"!