In my personal experience, entering my first semester of college brought with it a multitude of thoughts concerning what I was possibly going to do with my time after college. At the forefront of my mind was the matter of selecting a stable and rewarding career for myself, something that I hadn’t felt the need to consider so profoundly before. The seemingly endless possibilities that college presents encouraged me to think about what may follow this time, a concept that had previously felt so far away, and now appears to be the next “big step” when my college years do eventually conclude.
My answer to the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” has varied immensely throughout my childhood and teenage years. At first, it was steadfastly “zookeeper,” which later transitioned to “author,” and as of more recently, has morphed into a vague response about something to do with storytelling, in whatever form that may become. Since my mind has changed so often, I have decided to bring myself back to the basics of discovering what inspires me, while also reminding myself of the qualities that I hope to bring to the world one day in a professional setting. I accessed this through one of my favorite hobbies, which is journaling.Â
The following prompts were beneficial for sorting through my inner motivations and values.
- What topics do I most enjoy reading about and listening to?
- For imagining my ideal future: Where am I, what am I doing, and who am I with?
- Who do I look up to and why? What qualities do they have?
- What are my short-term and long-term goals? How do they align with my passions?
- What would I do if failure was impossible?
Using these simple yet thought-provoking prompts, I hope that any readers who have found themselves experiencing thoughts of confusion and unclarity around their unique career path – even if it has not officially begun yet, and is always subject to change – are able to unravel them through a process of creativity and reflection.