Do you ever get that feeling that something special is going to happen to you one day, but you have no idea what it is? Well I can certainly relate to that. I walk through every day expecting something majorly important to happen and change my life forever, because in my world, everything does revolve around me. I know God put me on this Earth for a reason, but I spend every minute just searching for that reason. It seems like everything in life has a hidden message, and paying attention to the details is what ends up meaning the most in the end. Life presents new people, places, and opportunities to us everyday, if we would just open our eyes and look at them. Every one of us gets caught up in what we want to do, and what we think we’re good at. But the truth is, we all have a calling, and sometimes, you just have to wait and see what yours is. Sometimes I feel like I need to be doing more than just going to school and talking to my friends. What good does that do for the starving kids in Africa? Or the endangered penguins in Antarctica? Absolutely nothing. But that’s okay, because I’m young. I’m not supposed to be saving the world. I’m supposed to be enjoying my life while I can, and preparing for whatever comes my way in the future. And you always have to be ready for anything, because life is so unpredictable; you never know what kind of challenges you’re going to face tomorrow.

The same goes for Katie Houser. She was just going along in life like any other 9-year-old girl; school, homework, friends, and family—that’s what her life was all about. She didn’t know what she was going to do when she grew up, or what any of her real talents were, she was just, in one word: average. Until one day, she came home from school and her parents gave her the news that changed her perspective on life—just a bit. Her dad had been transferred to Somalia—a country that Katie later identified as the 5th poorest country in the world. For the next few weeks, Katie’s life was a blur; goodbye parties, packing, trying to imagine her new life, and so on. When final moving day came, Katie knew that her moving wasn’t just some coincidence that life decided to throw in her face. It was a way of life telling her that this was the something special that was finally going to happen to her. This was going to mean something.

After arriving in Somalia, Katie searched high and low and nothing about her “calling” came to her mind. Nearly two years passed by of Katie just trying to adjust to her new life, then one day, it came. On her way to school one morning she passed a group of about 8 small children. They were clothed in next to nothing, and they were skinnier than sticks. Katie paused and tried to say hello to them. Before she knew it, she was like a celebrity to them. She brought them food, water, and clothes every day and she was always there for them as just someone to talk to. Years passed and she turned into their best friend, Katie, “the girl that helped them grow up to be important.”

Katie Houser grew up to become an executive in the Unicef Foundation. Except, she didn’t work in the office or try to advocate for more money. She worked in the field. She helped kids every single day just as she did when she was a child. Katie changed so many lives and turned Somalia into a country with a brighter future.

Looking back on her life one day when Katie was very old, she thought to herself: I never would’ve even considered a life like this if I hadn’t come here. I knew my life had a purpose, and I just had to wait and see what that purpose was. Something special happened to everyone, my something special just happened to be meeting those few kids that day many years ago. They, more than anyone, have had the greatest impact on my life since the day I was brought into this world.

So, be like Katie. Don’t waste your days searching for that special something. Keep your eyes open, and wait for that special something to find you. Whatever it is, one day it will come, and you’ll know it. Whether it’s meeting 8 children from Somalia, or publishing your first article in the local newspaper—when it hits you, you’ll know it, and your purpose in life will be revealed.