For as long as I could remember, I was set on medicine. I had my life planned out down to the smallest details. I would become a doctor and move back to California -- or go to Seattle, because Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital is a real thing, right?! I would find a specialty that I loved and would continue in that specialty for the rest of my life. That was the plan. I was set on it, and going into college I knew I could conquer the world.
What I didn’t take into account was that plans change. Passions change. Ideas change. I still love medicine and the career of a doctor, but I have also found other things I love, too. I love the patient interaction of nursing. I love the creative side of advertising and public relations. I love the variety that medicine has to offer. I love working with kids. I love taking classes I never thought I’d ever take. I love the idea of travelling the world as a CIA agent chasing the bad guys. OK, so maybe that is not as realistic as the rest of the things I love. Or maybe it is and I just can’t talk about my secret life. Anyways, the point is that college showed me that it was OK to change your mind. Especially when it comes to the career you’ll likely have for a long time.
Our society has taught us so well that once we choose a career we must stick to it. We are asked from almost day one to start thinking about what we want to do with our lives. We are often shot down when we’re told that being the president of the United States isn’t realistic. We are devastated when we are told that we can’t be a superhero. We are pushed to more realistic paths. Doctor. Lawyer. Teacher, if you’re brave enough to work for little money. Surgeon. Accountant. Et cetera. This idea of choosing a path and sticking to it is hurting so many college students. We are forced into paths that we may not enjoy in reality because we liked the idea of them.
College, contrary to popular belief, is the time in our lives when we should be exploring new options. Don’t be set in one field going into college. Take a class you never would have thought you would ever take. Join a club that you think would be fun that has nothing to do with the major you are considering. If you change your major, that is OK! Going into college teaches us a lot about who we are and what we enjoy. Changing majors once or twice, or even 10 times, can help us find ourselves and what we love. Sure, if you go in wanting to be a doctor and you take some classes related to medicine and you absolutely love them, then go on and be a doctor. You will be a good one because you love the classes. Don’t force yourself through an entire program of pre-med just because it was what you were set on.
Plans change, but you know what? That’s OK. Life isn’t meant to be a single event that continues forever. Life is meant to be an adventure. Let yourself go on that adventure and find what you really love to do. The rest will all work out in the end.
