I was going to see the most recent flick with my boyfriend at some point this summer, some romantic comedy or something of that essence. We stepped up to the counter to buy our tickets, and the ticket guy asked, “May I see your IDs?” Remembering that the movie was rated-R, I laughed, and shook it off, pulling out my ID for the man to see. I’m nineteen, but at 5’1”, I guess I can be mistaken for your average fifteen-year old. As we proceeded to the movie, popcorn in hand, the whole encounter really got me thinking. That guy really just asked me to present my ID at this stupid, R-rated movie. It’s not even a big deal, but it really makes me question a few things…
If you’re like me, you’re constantly thinking: weighing your options in hopes of, at some point, coming to a desirable conclusion about what you want to do with the rest of your life. Sitting in class you many ponder, “Well, I don’t know about the job market in this field.” “Will I really make enough money pursuing this career?” “How much money is all of this school and education going to cost me in the long run?” “Am I truly making the best possible decision?” “Am I going to succeed in life?” “Can I really, actually do this?”
Up until recently, I thought I had my entire career path figured out. Then, I was presented with this incredible opportunity that really brought me to weigh my options. Since I was young, I identified myself as a super-planner, always organizing my life in front of me and compartmentalizing aspects of my life. I knew what I wanted to be, where I wanted to go to graduate school, and what I essentially wanted to do with my life. And in the course of a single email, that was all turned upside down. And now, I’m left like the majority of the college student population… Unsure of where I’m going and what I’m doing.
I recognize that most college students come into their freshman year with little idea of what they want to pursue. A great majority of students go undecided, and even those who have a “decided major” often wind up switching majors. And it’s really scary having no idea where to go, what to do, or who to talk to about your options. Though the future is so promising, and the world is an open door of opportunities, an oasis waiting for you, that first step is definitely the hardest.
To me, though, the connection between my movie experience and the issue at hand is that there is a huge dichotomy in society between treating teenagers as “the youth” and addressing us as “the future.” In everyday society, we are still considered the “babies” of the world, presenting our IDs at the movie theatre and having to constantly prove ourselves in the adult world, but in the collegiate world, we are expected to quickly grow up and essentially predict our futures. I can’t say that my interests now will completely coincide with my interests at twenty-eight or forty-one or seventy-two. How am I supposed to decide what to do with the rest of my life when I’m only nineteen? Yesterday, they asked me for my ID at the movie theatre, yet today, and everyday after, I’m expected to figure out the course of my entire life.
Though totally the system may unfair and tremendously apt to error, I think we’ll be okay, guys. To the future lawyers and doctors and pharmacists and businessmen and women out there, I’m just as confused as you are. But for today, I’ll keep on presenting my driver’s license at rated-R movies, amidst studying for my college courses. And along the way, I’m sure I’ll find my passion, and I know you’ll find yours, too.