It's another semester, and as you've made it through your classes so far, you realize something amidst your beyond stressed mind.
You don't know what you're doing.
Not at all.
It's okay. Neither do I.
We often get told that we need to have our entire lives planned and scheduled out as soon as we can start to speak and share our dreams. From the time we're asked what we want to do, to when we pick our major in college.
We're expected to know exactly what we're doing, who we are, and where we're going.
The problem is; upon entering college, as much as you'd like to know the answer to these questions, or maybe think you know the answer to these questions, there's a very small chance that you do know the answers to them. That, naturally, makes it extremely difficult to progress, when we rarely know who we are upon entering college, much less what we want to do for the rest of our lives. But, alas, we have to start making these choices.
There's a secret that those asking these questions never reveal to us when asking them.
We don't have to know what we're doing or where we're going right now.
Our majors don't define us.
Our career paths and jobs don't tell us who we are, nor do they confine us to where we can go.
Brian May, the co-author and guitarist of Queen, had a PhD in astrophysics.
Our passions can be wide and varied. Our focuses don't have to be simple and straightforward.
A chemist can write poetry, and a writer can dislike fiction.
The categories we place on people aren't set in stone and don't define individuals.
The jack of all trades individual may pick a single major, but that major doesn't have to confine them to simply that. There are many hours in a day, and many days in a year. Each hour has the potential to be full of creations and work that you love. Don't let yourself be robbed of that by forcing yourself to stay within the walls society builds.
What you do now and decide to do can change. Not only that, but all your plans you make for years in the future can fall apart in an instant.
In a moment, a single event can result in the breaking down of everything you knew. Connections, opportunities, and circumstances can lead to careers and monumental moments of your life in ways you could never imagine. So you might not know what you're doing, but someone may see whatever it is you're doing and love it. You might not know where to go with what you love to do, but somebody might show you.
So put yourself out there. Do everything you love and everything you're capable of. It's okay to not know what you're doing, because sometimes that's exactly what you need to do.
There are some magnificent things that can only be possible when you run into them on accident. When you stumble your way blindly through and just so happen to come across a light, which may then lead you to guidance for the rest of your life.
Sometimes, we have to stumble for a bit in life before we find our way around. We have to fail and make mistakes, humiliate ourselves, be silly and embarrassing and childish, and in the end, we find our way.
So it's okay to not know what you're doing. Maybe not knowing what you're doing is exactly what you need to be doing.
It'll work out in the end, so long as you don't stop looking and seeking. And, one day, you'll find your light.
