When I first came to college, I made myself a promise: Once I created my plan, I was going to stick to it no matter what. So, I enrolled at George Mason University with a specific degree and established a minor. I was to become a marketing creative like Dre off of ABC’s “Black-ish.” My ideal job was to market books for a publishing firm. My second year of college is when I made the first change to that plan…I added another degree so that I would have more versatility coming out of college. By the end of my sophomore year, I threw the whole plan out the window and decided I wanted to be a lawyer specializing in intellectual property.
After the pandemic hit, my plan changed about three times due to my circumstances. I realized that at the age of 18, when I made myself that promise and decided on a plan, I didn’t know myself well enough to make that decision. It left me in a weird state of uncertainty. It appears a lot of college students know what they want to be, or at least pretend to know. Most of the people I started college with have graduated and started to get jobs in their field. Here I am still taking classes because I chose two degrees and a minor that I may never get to use.
While I’ve changed my plans various times, each time I learned something new about myself. I’ve discovered new skills, values, and perspectives that live within me. Each time it’s changed the value in which I perceive myself has gone up, and this is due to the time I spend just getting to know myself as a person.
Life is dynamic. Everyone meets different people, consumes different media, experiences different life events. The things we go through can change our perspectives and the way we think. In my case, I never saw people who looked like me working in library settings. There were barely any books in the libraries I went to that involved Black characters that weren’t centered around Black suffering for me to enjoy when I was younger. It took a random TikTok and some self-reflection to realize the library is always where I have felt most comfortable. Books have always been my passion…why not work where they reside?
As I’ve gotten the time to think, grow, and learn about myself, I’ve settled on one path. That doesn’t mean I’m not open to others, though. If my current passion festers or something happens in my life that causes great change within me, I’m open to whatever feels right. I think this is a mindset that many should take. I used to think certain degrees had no purpose because they wouldn’t make that person a certain amount of money. I’ve come to realize the only thing that matters is that person’s happiness in life. If they enjoy what they’re learning, regardless of the price, then ultimately, that lends something greatly valuable to their life in the long run.