This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a law school forum in My absolute favorite city, New York. There were 100+ law schools in front of me, and I only talked to about five. Not because I knew exactly where I wanted to go, but because I was starting to realize how much I still needed to figure out.
I’m only a sophomore, but like walking around the conference made me realize that my future is coming a lot quicker than I thought. Now here comes the questions. What’s my next step? Do I even still want to go to law school? How am I going to afford it? What am I actually looking for in a law school?
Meanwhile, it seemed like some of my classmates knew exactly what they were doing. They knew what schools they wanted to talk to and what questions to ask. And honestly, it made me wonder if I was behind.
I’ve always known I wanted to do something in law, but WHAT am I actually doing? Do I go to law school and figure it out along the way? Should I take a gap year and give myself time to explore? Or do I just dive in headfirst and trust that things will work out?
I don’t have the answers right now, and I think that’s what scares me the most
Im constantly told to “plan plan plan,” but how am I supposed to know exactly what I want when I’m still figuring out who I am? I don’t even know what type of law I want to practice and usually thats the first thing people think of.
I think it’s easy to look at the people around us and assume they have everything together. Maybe they do, or maybe they’re just as confused as me. Either way, I have to remind myself that someone else’s certainty doesn’t mean I’m doing something wrong.
The truth is, I don’t want to rush into a decision just because I feel like I’m supposed to. But I also don’t want to let being scared of my future stop me from doing something I genuinely want to do.
What I do know is that I’m supposed to make mistakes. I’m supposed to ask questions, change my mind, and figure things out as I go. Life can change in seconds, and the plans I have right now might not look the same a few years from now. And that’s okay. I remember last year I wanted to change my major to Journalism. I absolutely DO NOT want to do that anymore. At the time it made sense.
I don’t have to have everything figured out to the T, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t think about my future. If anything, this trip reminded me that it’s okay to question the things I’ve always thought I wanted. It doesn’t mean I’ve given up on them. It just means I’m learning to be more intentional about the decisions I make.
So, what happens after college?
Honestly, I don’t know yet. But I’m learning that I don’t need to have every answer right now. I just need to keep asking questions, exploring my options, and giving myself the chance to figure it out.