As college students, we are constantly questioned about what we will be doing next. We are asked what the plans are, if we have a significant other, where we will be living, etc. And of course we feel obligated to answer, but we don’t always have to. Take a step back and remember that today exists, too.
The answers we feel inclined to answer with are the things we know people want to hear. These are the answers that we tell ourselves we should want to strive to fulfill as well. Not all of us want the classic American Dream that so many people expect us to be going for, though. We’ve got the chance to talk about what we’re doing today in order to have a unique future.
Millennials are a newly defined generation with completely different hopes and dreams than most people in the past. We are a generation of dreamers that often times want to do everything and anything before settling down. We’re highly influenced by social media which always seems to push the idea of living bigger and better. Some would think this is unstable, but I see a really unique opportunity at hand. Millennials are developing the confidence to do the things of their wildest dreams, and I think education should be included in this through really striving to step outside the box with how we approach it.
I think education is extremely important but I think being educated in extremely unique ways is more important. Go to college, take on a promising major your love, but explore it in tons of unique ways that get you involved in the world. Take an internship across the country, start a blog about your passions involving your major, really invest your time in the skills you’re learning with your major in other parts of your life.
My point is that you need to take the focus off of going to college, “just” getting your degree, then going into the world of salaries. This mindset has you constantly worrying about “will I make enough money after college?”
Shift your focus into developing passions within your major outside of the classroom today. This way, when people ask about what you’ll be doing in the future, just talk about what you’re doing right now instead. It’s actually relevant, and people can assume what they will about your future on their own time. For your own sanity, just worry about today and what you’re doing to get better and more skilled. Think about it, the interview for the job you want is really going to care about what you’ve done thus far to be qualified, not necessarily what you’re waiting to do.
As a college student, I no longer fear the future when people ask what I plan to do. I know that today I am taking every opportunity I get to utilize my university education outside of the classroom. Working in the jobs, organizations, internships and personal projects with my major is pushing me to understand how my newfound skills will fit into the world. When people ask, I simply talk about those things instead of my “future plans” because I really don’t have any. I have hopes to work with the Jane Goodall Institute at some point, so yes I’ll throw that in there. Otherwise, I talk about my current involvement with the world and they are perfectly satisfied.
Just know that when people bring up the future, it’s probably because they don’t know enough about your current situation to ask about that. It’s okay not to know what you want in a few years! You're not there yet. Just do more today to better your tomorrow. Talk about today, live fully within today and enjoy every moment you have today. Tomorrow will work itself out as long as you set yourself up well for it.
