This summer has been somewhat of a milestone for me. Since the summer after my freshman year of college, I had only come home a handful of times. I felt the need to explore - explore myself, a new city, and life itself. I thought that the only true way to explore was to live on my own and learn to deal with things on my own. Yet, this summer, I have found myself writing more of my articles on my mom's couch than I had previously anticipated. This time at home has allowed me to reflect a bit more about my life and my future, and I believe some of my reflections are applicable to others.

After the second semester of my sophomore year of college, I switched my major from Marketing to English. I've always loved writing, and after much thought, consideration, and several appointments with a career counselor at OSU, I decided to choose English. I intended on working on my craft, and I thought that an English major would give me more experience. That's also why I decided to join the staff of The Odyssey at OSU, and was fortunate enough to become the Editor-in-Chief. It’s given me experience in both the journalistic side of writing, as well as editing, In addition to the slew of creative writing classes I take, I have been able to build my portfolio of both sides of writing.

However, my success has not been met without fear. I do not say doubt, because I have the utmost confidence in my own abilities. Fear, I believe is more accurate. It is the fear that others will not have confidence in my abilities. This fear is not unwarranted, either. Many people share my same fear, and I would go to say that they even have doubt as well. When I tell people that I’m an English major, their first question is typically, “Oh, what do you want to do, teach?” If their question is not that, it’s usually, “What do you intend to do with THAT?” I say, “I’m a writer,” to which they say, “I was going to say teacher, good thing that I didn’t!”

Couple this with the fact that many of my friends that I made freshman year of college are all still business majors; most of them, deep in internships and interviewing for paid positions. We look at our peers, and whether we consciously or subconsciously intend to, we measure ourselves against them. And more often than not, we scold ourselves. Not to mention, we see articles online, telling us the “best and worst majors in college” based upon highest salaries and employment rates after college.

Now, combine all of these factors, and you have a melting pot of fear. It made me wonder – have I picked the right path? Am I going to be successful? And I have no doubt that others feel this way, too.

After a trip with my mother to the local butcher shop that we’ve been frequenting for over 15 years, I had a realization: I’m going to be just fine.

Think of the billions of people who have lived and found work successfully without college degrees worldwide. Now, focus that down to America, and it’s still MILLIONS. The percentage of people without college degrees vastly outnumbers the amount of people with college degrees. A few decades ago, a college degree almost guaranteed you a job. Now, it’s not a complete guarantee… that you’ll find a job in your intended field. Talk to anyone you know with a college degree and a job, and there’s a good chance they might not match up. My mother had a degree in teaching, and went into the marketing field. My brother was a criminal justice and political science major, and now he owns his own business. There are millions of stories like these.

We often wonder what career we will find after college. And what I’ve realized is that while we can strive for a job in the field we originally intended, we might not end up there. Life takes us on all sorts of crazy twists and turns, and we can never know where we will end up until we get there. Keeping an open mind when it comes to your future is important above almost all. They say that opportunity rarely knocks on the door. To this, I say, have a lot of doors. Be willing to answer the call to different opportunities. Experience, even if it’s in a field other than you thought, is invaluable. And no matter what, work hard at what you do.

So, in my reflections, I realized that I will be just fine. I’m a decent writer, a hard worker, and I have an open mind. That can get me places. And if you share my fears, realize that you too will be just fine.