The other day I found myself sitting at my desk, staring blankly at my computer screen, almost as if my brain short-circuited due to my thoughts running too fast for it to process. My fingers nervously hovered over my keyboard as I tried to determine what area of internship to research… Yes, it seems simple enough, but this could be a career-defining moment. What if I choose the wrong area? What if whatever internship I choose isn’t the perfect fit for me? I sighed deeply when I came to the conclusion that I must be experiencing a quarter-life crisis. I leaned back, head tilted toward the ceiling, and thought, What the hell do I want to do with my life?
We all came to college with a goal. No matter how specific or broad, it was still a goal. We thought we knew what the future had in store for us and we were willing to work until we got there. But what we’re never prepared for is when things change and our goals are suddenly put into question… Why didn’t they cover that topic at orientation? Why weren’t we warned that life will take a sharp left turn when we’re least expecting it?
Maybe you planned on living a fast life in a big city after graduation. Maybe you wanted to get married and settle down. Maybe you had your heart set on landing that dream job you’ve wanted since middle school. Whatever it was, chances are it changed with time.
If you had asked me four years ago where I would end up after graduation, I knew exactly what my future held. I would live in London, England and work for a swanky advertising agency. However, if you ask me today, my answer will be a resounding groan accompanied by an over-exaggerated eye roll.
The thing is, I don’t know what I want to do with my life. I don’t know what my goals are. I have fallen in love with too many cities that I can’t narrow it down to one. I have surrounded myself with so many different types of writing that I can’t pick just one career. I know I have goals and I am working toward them every day, I just don’t know what they are anymore… But just because I haven’t found them yet doesn’t mean they’re not there.
We all hit this moment in our lives, that stressful time when we don’t know which way life is pushing or pulling us. We think we need our lives figured out by the day we get our diploma, but the truth is there is no expiration date for realizing who you are and what you want. We need to remember that though it may feel as if we should know what to do with our lives by now, we are only young and we are allowed to revise our original goals.
So maybe you have no idea what career path you want to take, or where you want to live, or who you want to spend your life with… That doesn’t mean that you’re lost, it just means that you’re exploring. You have time to decide these things and though you may wander down a few wrong paths, you will eventually end up on the right one. As hard as it is to do, you just need to take a second to breathe and realize that you have the rest of your life ahead of you. Though life may not turn out as you planned, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because your life will turn out the way it is supposed to be. Give it time, learn to love the unknown, and teach yourself to embrace the twists and turns that life has to offer.
Thumbnail courtesy of Nick Tiemeyer on Unsplash