Don't pass up a chance to explore success on your own terms

Anyone searching for a first job right out of college has surely been bombarded with serious, heart-to-heart advice -- from parents and professors, from peers and siblings, from college counseling centers and Internet job sites.

As if this time in your life hasn't been stressful enough. As if you haven't been scrambling for interviews. So with all you're hearing about salary, benefits and advancement opportunities, maybe it's time for a look at fun reasons to choose a job.

It is your life, after all.

Location: Who doesn't want to live in Maui, or Tahoe, or Jackson Hole? There are plenty of worker-bee jobs in resort areas, places so full of natural beauty that you can forget, for a bit, how seriously underemployed you are.

There's a rather short window of time in your life to explore new places, push your physical strengths to the limit, hang with a new gang. So go hand out scuba gear in the Caymans, serve coffee in Aspen, clean hotel rooms in Hawaii. You will be able to scuba and ski and surf and climb while you still have the 22-year-old knees and lungs to do it all well.

"It's very important to be happy in your first job -- that sets a healthy pattern for the rest of your life. And if you can do that in a beautiful environment, that's even better," said Craig Nathanson, a college professor and career coach who writes at thevocationalcoach.com.

"Too many people start out hating their work -- and it only gets worse as you face more pressure and have more responsibilities," he said.

Be creative: Nothing scares parents more than their kids wanting creative jobs: playing music, writing screenplays, designing clothes, painting canvases. Parents have been around a bit and know the odds of success (and some may have even tried that route themselves; ever thought to ask?).

But those odds simply don't apply right now. You are not even sure what level of "success" you are aiming for. You can, however, guarantee that you will never succeed in a creative field if you don't dive in early, and with unbridled passion.

"Too many college students are programmed to get straight As but really have no idea what they want to do and are just following their parents' belief systems," Nathanson said. "It's very hard to break away from peer and parental pressure, but you must."

So go to Nashville if you want to be part of the country music scene; to Los Angeles if you have always wanted to work in the movie industry; to New York if you adore fashion; to Washington if you are captivated by politics.

What's stopping you? Just go.

"Happiness is the key to success," said Albert Schweitzer, the medical missionary who won the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize. "If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."

Be supportive: Your boyfriend is doing his master's in London. Your girlfriend is heading to medical school in Boston. You are … you are … you are thinking of joining them.

Your peers and parents probably think tagging along is pretty lame, want you to focus on your career instead. So what? Time to revisit the opening theme -- it's your life.

For every couple that survives a long distance relationship, there are zillions of others who crash on the rocks. Yes, it's taking a big calculated risk. But you are the one who must choose the love of your life, not your friends or family.

"One of every two couples are divorced because people in relationships don't figure out what is most important to them, share that, and then figure out how to support each other's dreams," Nathanson said.

Go or stay. It's up to you. Just don't let "common wisdom" dominate your thinking.