I want to be a-

With all that theoretical math stuff, you might expect that I was set on a path to become a theoretical mathematician.  But, maybe ironically, I haven't taken much theoretical math in college.  It's a shame.  I could have been good at it.

I could imagine that my old physics teacher would have said I should become an astrophysicist or something.  I probably could have been good at it.  I was pretty good at chemistry too.  And I seemed to have some skill for statistics.  You know, I enjoy game design too.  Have you seen some of the games I've made?

I knew I was really fortunate to have a lot of opportunities.  PhD programs, funded PhD programs maybe, a good chance to get whichever job I wanted...
By the way, which job did I want?  Uh, I want to be a- a- I don't know...

Just before I graduated from college, the head of the computer science department gave me some advice.  She said that often the trouble with being good at so many things was that it made it hard to choose one thing you wanted to do.  But she recommended just choosing one path and sticking with it, going after it to the fullest (she advocated for a path in computer science a little, of course).  I thought it was good advice.  But I kind of wanted to ask:

Can I choose to chase after everything?

Can I try to do everything I possibly can do?

The world seemed not to expect it, asking questions like, "What (single) course sequence will you follow?", "Which (one) field of study will you focus on as you go higher?", and "What (one) type of job are you going for?"  What if I wanted to do more?!

Somehow, even now, I've kept a lot of options open.  I continued to hold out on making a decision for one single path as long as possible, knowing that as soon as I made one, I would most likely force myself to make the best of it, even if I came to realize other choices might have been better.  A time may come where I have to make a choice, in which case I'd have to go with whoever needed and wanted me.  Or I'd just flip a mental coin, roll a mental die, and leave my fate to chance...

But I'm sure I'll always find some way to do more.  I mean, if I end up in an applied math job, I'll just have a hobby of game design, doing a little extra theoretical math for fun, training to become a fighting game pro, learning some Japanese on the side...  Or I'll work for a computer company, but I'll have a hobby of solving applied math problems, doing a little extra theoretical math for fun, training to...