Summer has begun. Internships are jumping into full gear. Jobs are taking over. And, surprisingly, vacation is the last thing on our minds. Everyone has moved home or gone away to work, and campus has become a ghost town.
But before all of the busyness kicks in, there is a short time where everyone gets to go home to their families, visit their old high school friends, and just relax and catch up. However, if you're anything like me, the "catching up" part can be quite the opposite of a relaxing afternoon. You are suddenly bombarded with questions. "What is your plan for after graduation?" "Have you started applying to grad schools?" "What can you possibly do with that major?" You sit with your friends who all seem to know exactly what they're doing with their lives, and they have it all mapped out. You wait for the moment when it's your turn to update everyone on your college experience, and you give the dreaded answer: "I don't know."
Before you know it, more and more questions are being thrown at you. People try to pry your future plans out of you. "You certainly must have some idea what you're going to do."
Well, what if you don't? What if you have no idea what you want to do? You're just trying to make it through college at this point!
Guess what. That's okay! It's okay to have no idea what your future holds. It's okay to change your major four times just to end up right back where you started or in a totally different field. It's okay to find out you're graduating early or that you have to stay an extra year. It's okay to not have a plan. College is about exploring and learning who you are, and along the way, you may find something that sparks your interest and pursue a career in that field. Or you may just major in something because you thought it would be cool and then see what comes of it.
My dad started his college career as a Mechanical Engineering major at Georgia Tech. He pursued engineering for two and a half years, and halfway through his junior year of college, he changed his major to Accounting. He then transferred to complete his senior year at Southern Illinois University. He has now worked in the business field for over 20 years, and he currently holds the position of Divisional Merchandise Director for LifeWay Christia Retail. He even decided to go back to school this year to get his Master's of Business Administration.
My sister-in-law went into college as a Vocal Performance major, switched to Education, switched again, and then finally graduated (a semester early I might add) with a degree in History. She is now happier than ever working as a library assistant in a brand new high school.
My brother followed his passion for sports into college. He attended the schools that would allow him to play baseball. For his first two years, he attended Lee University as a Business Administration major. He then transferred Trevecca Nazarene University as a Sports Management major. All this time he was playing baseball. He even continued on to get a Master's degree in Organizational Leadership while he played his last year of college ball. He didn't necessarily know what he wanted to do; he just knew he loved the game. He is now the general manager of The Escape Game in Downtown Nashville, and he is the head pitching coach for the varsity baseball team at a high school in the area.
You often hear people say, "College was the best four years of my life." So make that true for yourself! All three of these people, and many others just like them, had no idea what they were going to do when it came time to graduate. But now, they all love what they do. Life has a way of getting you where you're supposed to go whether you know where that is or not.
Don't let fear of the unknown future freak you out. Love the mystery and embrace the change. Be confident in every decision you make. Explore your options. Be a college student! You only get to experience college like this one time, so enjoy it!
"College Inspired me to think differently. It's like no other time in your life." -Larisa Oleynik
