Every Sunday, I do a FaceTime date with my parents. It’s cute. We cycle through my health, my classes, my social life, and then my mom will hold my puppy up to the camera and spend ten minutes or so trying to get him to look at the screen. At the end of the call, my dad always says “I am so excited for your future. You have so many opportunities, you must be having such a great time,” which, yes, I’m having a decent time. But I never feel like I am doing enough or maybe all the correct things I need to do. Honestly, I have no idea what I’m doing.
Between now and March is what I like to call “deadline season.” It’s when most of the summer applications, study-abroad applications, major declaration, and other very important things are due. I really dread planning ahead, it makes me a little nauseous. In high school, most opportunities just arrived or were given to me, and I’m grateful for that. But at Duke, it takes a lot of planning and meetings and constantly having to answer the question “What do you want to do? What do you want to accomplish?”
There’s a psychology term that I believe fits well here: “The Paradox of Choice.” The concept is that when people are presented with too many choices, whatever they decide on will ultimately leave them unsatisfied. Think of when you pick classes: you are presented with so many options to choose from, especially if you have not settled on a major, that you may end up doubting if you selected the best classes for you.
The paradox here is that Duke has an endless amount of things to apply for, become involved in, and explore, and I believe it is one of Duke’s strengths: the abundance of activities. But it’s a lot, and it can seem like all of the travel and programs are very out of reach. So if you’re like me – a person who likes many things but does not know what to do with them – here’s some things that helped me:
Meeting with a DAE (Dean of Academic Engagement)
This is probably the most helpful resource at Duke for planning all things academic. I began my meeting by frantically ranting about all the things I want to do and left with a drawn out four-year plan and a list of summer programs to apply to. Nice!
FLUNCH
Your teachers know a lot! They are fantastic resources to talk to about things to get involved in related to what you like to study. And getting to know your teachers and their field can help you explore your academic interests as well. And free food.
Write it out
Sit down and really think about what makes you excited. What do you want to learn more about? What do you like to listen to or watch that really captures your attention? Write down whatever comes to mind. I think these questions are a lot more digestible than “What do you want to do with your life?”
Talking to people
This seems like a no-brainer, but the best way to figure out what students do is to talk to them about what they do. They are going to provide the more personal, unfiltered information about certain programs or studies.
Good luck!