As a senior in high school, your expected to know what you want to do with your life and where you want to go to college. Two very big choices for a teenager. Did you know what you wanted to do right out of high school? Was that the career choice you ultimately went through with?
Or did you go to school and let your degree collect dust? The pressure to follow “the order” of entering out of high school is the ultimate pressure and now more than ever. But what if the better choice is to wait? What if students out of high school got more work experience or even just life experience in general? Maybe it’s worth the wait for the life you want.
I’m 27 years old and currently a senior at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. I’m majoring in Food Science and Nutrition with a specialization in Dietetics. My ultimate dream job is to become a diabetes educator for kids. Did I know this was my calling in high school? Absolutely not. High school was confusing for me, I did not want to be there. I never enjoyed my classes, and I was constantly skipping classes whenever I could because I was fighting so much anxiety. When it came to what I wanted to be when I grew up I had so many ideas at 17-years-old.
My first choice was a medical researcher so that one day I could develop a cure for type one diabetes. I investigated schools and found that Fayetteville, Arkansas, the home of the Razorbacks had a great program for that sort of field. But then one day, I thought maybe a diabetic doctor, an Endocrinologist was a good idea for me. The drawback was how many years of schooling it would take just to become a doctor. Then I thought, for sure a massage therapist was a great idea, I could go to the massage therapy school right in my hometown of Wenatchee, Washington, and not have to move.
I was so flooded with ideas it was hard to pinpoint just one. I kept questioning, “Am I even passionate about any of these things?” That was the million-dollar question. I attempted to just get my AA degree at Wenatchee Valley College for the time being, but after a semester I dropped out due to family issues as well as not having the drive to go through with college. I decided focusing on family was the most important thing at the time as well as working to earn money and of course that life experience for the next five years.
After my dad had passed away, I took the year to figure my life out. I explored options, worked and saved up whatever money I could. I was searching for a sign that would point me where I should go. Then one day it just walked up to me out of the blue, in the form of a school nurse. At the time I was working at a paint your own pottery studio and this woman came up to the counter to order a drink. As I made it, she noticed my tattoo that said, “Type 1 diabetes.” She asked me, “you’re a type one diabetic?” and pointed at my tattooed wrist. I shook my head and she asked me what I planned on doing for a career. That was something I was constantly thinking about during that time, what was I going to do? We started talking about diabetes and how it was so important that kids being diagnosed with it at young ages needed tools and guidance.
This woman mentioned that I should look into becoming a diabetes educator and get my degree. I pondered this the whole rest of my shift and then as soon as I got home I messaged my favorite diabetes educator of all time from the Children’s Hospital in Seattle, Washington Barb. Barb was my saving grace when I was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. She knew I was scared and that I had a lot to learn, but she put it into terms that a six-year-old at the time, could understand, and held my hand through it all. I asked her what I needed to do to become, well, like her. She gave me the run down and told me this was not going to be easy, so I mentally prepared myself and then took my next step, talking to my mother.
My mom has done a lot for me especially when it came to being my diabetic caregiver when I was so young. I sat her down and told her that I was going down to the community college in Wenatchee and reapplying so that I could get my AA degree and then later to find out that I would transfer to Central Washington University to major in my current Food Science and Nutrition bachelor’s degree. Ever since the Fall of 2017, I haven’t stopped. I have a passion. I have a drive. I want to help kids that are experiencing exactly what I went through.
Behind this story, there lies a question, is it worth the wait? Many think nowadays, that going to college in your late 20s is the answer. Your more mature and fixed on what you want rather than being completely in the dark on what to do as a teenager focused on the parties and moving out. My advice to anyone trying to find your passion or purpose in life when it comes to your career, don’t base it on getting right out of high school. You have time, if you don’t make a choice right after high school graduation, you are okay. Save your money, don’t waste it all on school for something you weren’t wanting in the first place. Let yourself grow as a person, so that when the timing is right, your mindset for your career and what you want is right there. Don’t let the norm prevent you from going after what you want, even if it takes some time.