I’m not going to sugarcoat it; it’s a truly difficult time to be a college student. Tuition is high, debt is higher, the competition is fierce, and jobs are few and far between. There is so much pressure placed on us to have perfect grades, an impressive stack of internships and extracurriculars, an active social life and a job offer immediately following graduation. We’ve been planning our futures since before the SAT and are constantly terrified by those family dinner questions like, “What will you do with that degree?” or “Where do you see yourself in five years?” or the absurdly general “What do you want to do with your life?” I personally don’t have my entire life plan figured out quite yet, much to my dismay, and I’m slowly but surely starting to realize that it’s okay.
Despite what it feels like sometimes, life is not a series of little boxes you periodically check off. Degree? Check. Internship? Check. Career? Check. Living life like a task to accomplish limits your potential and pressures you into a narrow idea of success and sets you up for disappointment. It’s a terribly dull way to live! Just because it was decided that college-aged people should choose the career they want to have for the rest of their working lives does not mean you have to ascribe to that archaic way of thinking.
I walked into my first advising appointment as a freshman with an entire schedule for the next four years of my academic life. Needless to say, the adviser thought I was insane. Planning was always an integral part of the way I operated, and I assumed I could plan my life as easily as I planned my courses. When people asked me what I wanted to do with my life, I recited the seemingly practical, interesting answer. I also convinced myself I could find passion in planning. When I realized the idea of following my own carefully laid plans made me unreasonably sad, I began to accept my future was much less certain than I originally thought. I took a deep breath, had a long cry and began to reevaluate my outlook on life.
Finding what you want to dedicate your life to is no easy feat. It takes a lifetime to find deep meaning and fulfillment, and often the road to your “right” career is twisted and confusing (not as straight and sunny as we’d like it to be). Right now, all you can do is commit to what you’re passionate about learning and study it. Don’t choose your major based on practicality; choose it based on your passions. Study what you love, and a job you love is sure to follow.
If you know exactly what you want to do with your life and you are filled with passion and vigor for medicine, law, theatre, accounting or whatever it may be, that is amazing! Pursue whatever fills you with joy and makes your heart beat fast. If, like me, you know what makes you happy but you’re not quite sure what kind of job can combine all of your scatterbrained, across-the-board interests (since being Tina Fey isn’t really a career option), then explore! This is the time in our lives that allows us to discover so many amazing opportunities and paths in life. Yes, college is expensive, professors are strict, and we’re all going to graduate with a little uncertainty and a little more debt, but we are also at a time in our lives that allows us to do whatever we can possibly think of with our time. Join a club you never would have considered before, take an exciting class, and take a breath! It will all be more than okay.
And if you’re feeling a little lost at sea, don’t stress yourself out into a Taco Bell-and-Netflix-binge period (totally not speaking from personal experience…). Time has a way of working these things out. Live life as actively as you can, don’t let life happen to you, and please, please try to have fun… We are in college after all!
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