Have you ever taken a moment to just think about all the twists and turns in your life-long journey, and thought: How did I end up here? Who have I let myself become? Is this where I am supposed to be? I often have these thoughts where I doubt my journey and wonder if there was a different one to lead me to the success of my goals. Three years ago as I was graduating high school I thought nursing sounds like something I would love to do, because I love helping people, caring for them, and science…wait science? Actually, nursing just might be the wrong shoe size, just by 12 sizes or so. Great so now what do I do? Where does my career path lie? Well, three years ago I believed that I had to have my entire life planned out - career, love, city, friends - and that notion ended up slowing me down more than helping me succeed. So what exactly would I tell my newly graduated and meticulous self?
1. Do not be afraid of an unknown future.
You might think that you have your life planned out, but you will soon come to realize that the Business major you're in will not even last three weeks, and the friends you thought would be standing beside you on your wedding day will grow apart, and that you can not possibly know what will happen in 5 days let alone 5 whole years. That may sound like terrible news to hear, but it is okay to not know where you are going and it is definitely okay to figure things out day by day instead of trying to plan out the next ten years of your life. One of the most common questions you will be asked is “so what do you plan on doing with your life after college?” The truth is, not knowing allows you to be a part of more opportunities, and it allows you to view life from the perspective that plans change constantly and you will get more out of life by living day to day.
2. Failure is a good thing.
You are going to fail in ways you did not know you could, but good news for you, it changed you for the better. At college, you are given a lot of responsibility, which is exhilarating and wonderful at first, but after a few months without mom and dad to rescue you from your troubles, you realize you are truly growing into that ‘adult’ you already thought you were. You will have many opportunities to fail as well as succeed, but your failures are actually very valuable. Failures hold valuable lessons to be learned from, and are actually what leads you in to your successes. If you always succeeded in life you would not have any character or any experience to push you more toward your goals. One thing high school did not teach you is that failure is what molds us into who we are, but you have to have the right mindset in order to use your failures in the correct capacity.
3. Embrace who you are.
At first you saw college as a new beginning: No one knows who you are, or what your weird quirks are (like your undying love for cats even though you are allergic), and that was the perfect opportunity to change how strangers will see you. First off you should not care about the opinions of people that do not know who you are. Let me just say, you will become so bored and distant from everyone around you, because they do not truly see the real you, so how could anyone like you for you? As soon as you embrace all your interests and passions you can actually start connecting with people in new ways. People will always come and go from your life, and if you are not real with people most of them will move on.
4. Enjoy your last summer as a teen.
In all technicality you are still in your teens, as much as you will fight that word. In a few years you are going to look back and wish you took advantage of this time in your life. You have played it safe all throughout of high school, and the only time you did anything adventurous was… okay let’s face it you were not a risk taker. Unless you count the time you went to a party and sat in the back corner thinking everyone is completely nuts (which I guess in a way that is how you discovered your distaste in that particular lifestyle). By all other means though take some risks, like going on dates, or go apply to that internship or job just for kicks and giggles, and who knows you may hate it or you might love it. Get out of your room and meet some new people who could give you a new perspective on the world. Do not waste your time sitting in your room binge watching "Doctor Who." You will miss out on many opportunities if you are just looking out of your window like a bird in a cage.
5. Your parents actually know what they are talking about.
To your surprise, parents are humans too and they have made way more mistakes than you have. Basically, what I am getting at here is that they are a wealth of knowledge and experience of life, so why not use that knowledge to your advantage. Apparently though to gain access to this ever ending fountain of experience and advice you not only have to listen to what they say, but also take action to their advice. Once you are capable of doing that you will be able to learn so much from them, sometimes even things you do not want to hear but actually need to hear. So don’t be afraid to ask them about their experiences, you might learn something about yourself too.
