In May I will be graduating from Bradley University, and I finally know my next steps. It took me a very long time to get there, and it wasn’t even close to what I envisioned as a freshman. I will be going to a new school (yet to be decided) to get my master’s and become a Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist (RDN). This is shocking to me because when I was in high school I would have bet money on the chance that I would not attend grad school.
There are high expectations to have your life planned out after college. You finally got the degree you worked so hard for, so now you have to get the perfect job in the perfect place. For me, it was a stressful four years in college. I started as a nursing major and planned to get a great nursing job after school. I changed career paths, and I felt like my entire future was up in the air. I was scared that everyone around me would have an amazing, high-paying job and I would still be in school and living with my mom. Well, that is actually my exact plan, and I am finally okay with that.
I learned the question, “what are your post-college plans?” shouldn’t make you cringe. It should make you proud of everything you have accomplished during your college journey. If your response is that you have to stay a few extra years, get another degree, stay home and raise a child, or decide not to do a single thing pertaining to your major — whatever it may be, embrace it and be confident.
Life is all about making mistakes, learning from them, and creating a path for yourself that is just that: yours. The expectation that you have to go from being a full-time student with extracurriculars and maybe a part-time job, to being this perfect addition to the working community is overwhelming, and frankly, almost impossible.
One of the things I have realized as a college student about to graduate is that it doesn’t matter how you got to your destination. All that matters is the people you surround yourself with and will support you during the journey.