For most of us, the final year of undergrad is one of the most thrilling (and terrifying) periods of our lives. I was no exception. Almost exactly a year ago, I met with the undergraduate chair of my university’s English department, and she bluntly told me that if I were interested in any career outside academia, I should pursue that instead of my passions. (Yes, she really said that. No, I did not cry in her office… but it was close.) Her words were shocking and, frankly, disheartening. Like any rational human being, I spiraled for weeks (my Notes app has never seen so many dramatic life plans). Through it all, I texted my grandfather for advice.
My grandfather, Leroy Llewellyn, is one of the most inspiring people I have ever had the privilege of loving. A retired lawyer, Army veteran, and all-around cool guy, he is a master of practical wisdom. At 71, he has a lifetime of stories (from almost secretly marrying my grandmother to building his own house to even saving a dog from death row), qualifying him to speak on nearly every life experience. Yet, a firm believer that silence is golden (pens and light switches have a finite number of clicks, and car radios remain off while he drives), he is not much of a talker. Until very recently, he had only a flip phone and relied on email to communicate. Those emails are still a treasured way he sends me videos of the elk, foxes, and bobcats that visit his backyard, though we’ve now mostly transitioned to texting.
Despite his reserved exterior, he is also one of the kindest people I know. He often has lunch dates with my mom. He shows up to every single one of my and my cousin’s events, even when he would rather go to the butcher. Whenever he finds a book that might interest me, he sends it my way. On most of my major milestones, she wears the button-up shirt he wore the day I was born, and we “met” for the first time. So, while many adults are happy to give advice, it was my grandfather whose guidance I sought. I knew much of what he had to say could resonate with anyone facing the Sunday scaries of university life, so here they are:
On Choosing A Career
In high school I thought the biology classes on genetics, Gregor Mendel and his peas, were real interesting but I couldn’t see a career in it except breeding flower seeds. That didn’t sound that great. Genetics has advanced miles since then and I was way wrong once more
While you might not be able to visualize a direct career in the things you are interested in, who knows what the future will hold? Today’s world is changing at a very rapid pace, so go after what you find interesting; your dream job might not even exist yet.
I don’t recall ever setting out to do a thing that didn’t sound interesting. All kinds of things make me think – I could do that. I thought the army sounded interesting. Sometimes I was wrong. That happens to all of us. The solution – reload and try again. Think big. There is a universe of possibilities open to a person with a college degree. Your mother started out in a basic job, stuck with it, and it has paid off. Same with grandma. A new job is just a test, an experiment with employer and employee, not a lifelong commitment.
In the army one of my friends got into a dispute with a landlord. He hired a lawyer and went to court. I was there as a witness for him. By the time we were done, I was telling my pal – I could be a lawyer. I could do this. I was a high school grad with zero higher ed at the time.
In a similar vein, interests change over time, and so can your dreams.
On Being An Adult
I don’t have any anecdote to back this up but I still think a year or two of life experience would be useful before more education. I went to law school from working in steel construction. Some things I was familiar with from ‘contracting’ came up in Contracts class. Some things in torts and real property classes resonated because we owned rental houses.
Take a break. Get a job. Budget your payday. Pay rent. Buy groceries. Get a streaming service. Deal with odd ‘life’ jobs like a broken washing machine, or changing streaming services, or some bonehead you have to work with / for. And then, in a year or two, if it’s no good, take a break from that.
On the other hand, the future is not always interesting. Sometimes you will have to deal with things that are mind-numbing at best, frustrating at worst, but everything will help you get where you want to be.
I took some kinds of occupational testing in the army, not for my army job. Just for fun. They said I should be a forest ranger, an orchardist, a farmer, . . . 🤷🏼♂️
I quickly regretted the army while I was doing it. I was counting the days when I still had more than 900 to go. Not smart. It just goes slower. Now I don’t regret it one bit, except they offered great training in all kinds of technical fields that I passed up.
Without my license to practice law, I have no credential. Via the army, by the time I was 19 I coulda been an air traffic controller. I coulda learned explosives. I was specifically offered a year-long training at Fitzsimons army hospital in Denver, learning how to fix medical equipment. The navy has a nuclear engineering program with 2 years of training on operating nuclear reactors. It’s all awesome education that leads to good civilian jobs, and they pay you.
I passed on all that to write for the fort Carson newspaper and radio station KRSN. I was in the Department of Defense Information School for 10 weeks to train for that job. I was in class with people from all the services, except our 2 marines both flunked out. I was still 18 years old when I got to fort Carson ready to rock and roll. My 10 weeks at DINFOS was pitched as equivalent to a 4-year degree in journalism. In civilian life, it’s a meaningless credential.
You can’t win ‘em all. Or, maybe you can. Thomas Edison – I haven’t failed yet. I now know 10,000 ways that won’t work. Try your luck with something that sounds interesting. Back around the time your mother was born, I had insiders offer to help me get work with Sturgeon Electric and also with the city of Colorado Springs. Either one could have been a career move. I regret not taking that help but it seemed like the right choice at the time. Nothing is too irreversible at your age. Change any of my choices and where the heck did Sarah and Madelyn and them disappear to?
I’ll repeat this: “Nothing is too irreversible at your age”! Take opportunities; don’t take opportunities. Life is not going to pass you by.
On Taking Chances
This is the career assessment I took in the army that pointed me toward forestry / tree farming. The test was free from the army. I imagine Kuder expects civilian folks to pay. It wasn’t worth much for me, although it was halfway accurate. I coulda been happy as a forest ranger. I like the outdoors,I like doing things by myself, but I thought I would make some financial killing in life and that didn’t seem like it. That mighta been it.
Don’t always chase money. While it’s a privilege to be able to make decisions based on your interests rather than the economy, if you can prioritize your happiness, do so.
I don’t think nothin’ about nothin’. Law school is just one of the possibilities that are open to people with a college degree. It was a chore and didn’t pay off that great, but I’m glad I did it. 😎
Not every decision you will make will pay off, but it will take you a step closer to a decision that will.
I worked in the law library my second and third years. I ran the place weekdays from 7 to midnight. I locked it up at midnight. The desk I mainly worked at was right by the entrance to the law school building. One evening I saw a young woman law student go out the door and yell and throw her pile of law school books. I think she was crying. Made quite a racket. It can get a little tense. It’s not for everybody. One of my early law school friends, gave your mother a purple and white striped sweater that she wore all the time for awhile, real nice lady, dropped out after one semester. Didn’t do as well as she expected. Neither did I but I wasn’t going to quit. And it got a little better after year 1.
Not every decision you make will be easy, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.
We had detailed plans for house building – drawings, material lists, but we changed each one – move a window here, change a wall there. All kinds of plans change all the time. You’ll think of something. And don’t shy away from any idea just because it seems hard. I settled for an economics degree. No credential there. I shoulda tried engineering. I mighta not been top 5%, but I coulda done it and it’s way more interesting. I think the biggest regrets are things you don’t do. If other people can do it, you can do it.
Not every decision you make is a permanent one, and that is the point.
Sure. It’s easy looking backward. So many times and ways I came to a fork in the road and went left when I shoulda gone right. The accumulation of that is ‘life’. Without some of my choices, I never would have met your grandmother, no Sarah, Joe, and Amy, and so on . . . Maybe we naturally end up where we’re supposed to.
I think this last one speaks for itself.
Now, I definitely didn’t follow all of my grandfather’s advice to a T. I went straight from undergrad to my Master’s (sorry, Grandpa), and maybe I’ll regret that one day. But here’s what I can confirm: chasing what actually excites me has paid off, even if it hasn’t been in dollar signs yet. For the first time ever, I’m genuinely excited about what’s ahead.
So, if you’re stressing about “the plan” or second-guessing every move, take this as your sign: you don’t have to have it all figured out right now. Not every decision is permanent, and not every choice will be the perfect one–but each step will bring you closer to where you’re meant to be. It’s scary, it’s messy, and yeah, sometimes it’s hard. But honestly? That’s kind of the point. And if my grandpa’s right (and he usually is), everything will be okay. Enjoy your last year of university and look forward to the future!