We all have different relationships with our moms, whether they are good ones or bad ones is up to you and her. I was fortunate enough to have my mom as my best friend. Sounds cliche I know, but I can confidently say that she's my best friend and my role model all in one. The one thing I always loved about my parents is that they were honest with me always and had a very realistic outlook on life. While they would tell me to reach for the stars, they made it clear that life was going to be no stroll in the park. Ever since I was little, my parents and I would play board games, call us old fashioned but the Wii and iPhones were not even out yet.

My dad would never let me or my brother win on purpose. Although this may come to a shock for others, my dad wanted to teach us that we won't always win in certain situations and we can't expect to win or get things handed to us. We have to work for what we earned and although it may be a journey filled with ups and downs, its the fact that we did something for ourselves. It wasn't until college that I finally started to follow this mentality. And although I started thinking this way later than others, I had no idea how much of an impact it would have on me.

Sadly, I didn't have this type of mentality until this year. Getting a "free pass" last year being a freshman, i never really thought about the fact that I'm an adult, going to college far from home, creating my own life for myself. Maybe its the fact that I'm turning 20 this month or the fact that I live in an apartment, but it has finally clicked to me that I'm an adult. And let me tell you, time flies when you're older. I'm done with classes this week and then I go home for almost a month anxiously awaiting the next semester. What I've started to realize is that my apartment in Florida is my home. Although freshman year meant going home to see friends and socializing now turned to me waiting to go back to school, wanting to have my daily routine back.

However, what I've learned with time traveling fast is the idea of a career and a future for myself. Now, I have no idea what I want to do when I grow up. When I first looked at the University of Florida as a school, I was interested in Interior Design, that craze soon ended and I was interested in psychology and cognitive science. While I am studying behavioral analysis now, there is no way to know if I'll end up doing this in the future. With the semesters almost being over and my mind going a million miles per hour, I called my mom so she could put me at ease. What was a forty minute conversation turned to one of the most impactful conversations of my young adult life.

"This too shall pass", over the years, this has been the saying that my mom and I have used to get through tough times and when we feel as though certain situations will never come to an end. My mind in a manic mode called my mom because I not only needed a sounding board but needed my mom. Although we try to run from the idea of talking to our parents to create the illusion of "I'm doing everything on my own" and "I'm just so busy", calling my mom was the best thing I could have done. My mom is different from others in that she tells it how it is. She knows that life works in mysterious ways and while one thing can happen to us that we don't agree with, it was meant to happen. While I ranted about my stress and the feeling of being "lost" she said, "Dana, you're only 20 years old, interests will change, people will come and go, you never know where life can take you." And she's right, I have so much time and yet I'm stressed that I'm not doing enough, not managing my time correctly, and worried about my future.

Writing for Odyssey was a new interest for me, while I was scared to jump out of my comfort zone, these little articles once a week has changed my outlook on life so much. Over the past two weeks, I went from thinking that I needed to be a behavioral analyst, to thinking I could do whatever I wanted. Although you're majoring in one thing, doesn't mean that you have to have a career in that field or will have a career in that field. We as college students are so young, and yet there is so much pressure on us to choose what we want to do for the rest of our lives.

Things can come into our lives so unexpectedly, and yet we choose to question why it happened or what to do. Sometimes, you just have to say yes and go with the flow even if you are a die-hard planner like myself. We may not get every job that we apply to or get the grade we think we deserve, but what's the harm in trying? The worst that can happen is that they say no, decline your application, or keep the grade that you obtained before. What my mom taught me is that you won't know until you try. You won't know that you're a bad writer until you start typing, you won't know if you're not fit for the job if you won't even apply.

Not everything comes so easy. And I thank my parents for teaching me that. We don't have to have everything planned out, we don't have to know everything. However, what you can do is put all your hard work into something. Because although you don't get the job, position, or whatever you applied to, at least you can move forward and say to yourself that you tried hard and put your best work into it. What's meant to be, will be. After all, everything does happen for a reason whether you'd like to believe it or not.

So breathe, take a step back, and realize that you don't have to decide now. Your future is your own and it can be whatever you want it to be. Who knows, maybe I'll be a behavioral analyst, or maybe I'll be a journalist with this new interest of writing. Through trial and error, you'll find your future. But seriously, breathe, take a step back, and take one day at a time. After all, you're only 20 years old and have your whole life ahead of you.