It’s Okay to Start Over

A lot is asked of high school seniors. By 18, you are expected to know where you want to go to school and what you want to go to school for. Freshly turned adults are asked to figure out what they want to do for the rest of their lives when they had to raise their hand just two months ago to ask to use the bathroom. This results in a lot of people feeling stuck with their decision and later on regretting their decision. When you’re in college, you have your whole life ahead of you. You can start over as many times as you want. Do not choose to live a life full of regrets just because you thought you were “too old” to try something new. 

I feel like when we go into college and choose our majors no one truly knows what they want to do yet. Before I got into college I was convinced I was going to be a teacher, now in my second year I know that I want to work in the marketing world of the makeup industry. The experiences that I had at my internship made me realize that teaching wasn’t for me and so I started over. I have plenty of friends who decided to change their majors halfway through college. I supported them because I want them to do something they actually enjoy for the rest of their lives rather than feeling stuck and unhappy and thinking they can’t start over. When you graduate college your 20s are just starting. There is no ticking time clock because you have all the time in the world. Start taking those dance classes you’ve always wanted to take, but your parents never put you in. Go learn how to throw pottery because you saw it once on TikTok.

I think tv shows are a great way to look at things. For example, ‘Friends’ is a show about a group of friends (believe it or not) in their late 20s and we watch them experience life. In the first episode Rachel is a runaway bride and Ross is dealing with his pregnant ex-wife and her eventual wife. Rachel and Ross’ relationship is one of the many things we see develop through the 10 seasons. Through those 10 seasons we watch all the characters start over. Another show where the characters are navigating their late 20s and early 30s is ‘How I Met Your Mother’. When you watch these shows their age doesn’t really matter to you because you already know they’re adults, but when you put into perspective the characters’ ages and all they went through, you realize you have all the time in the world.

If you think you’re too old to start over, please rethink, because you still have so much time. In the movie ‘Dead Poets Society,’ one of the main messages is carpe diem, to seize the day. Live every day like it is your last and live with no regrets. You don’t want to be living out your final days and being unhappy because you thought you were too old to start over and try something new. It is never too late. 

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