I would say the year before you graduate high school is the year that society has deemed “the time you decide what you’re going to do with the rest of your life.” It's the chapter where you get to decide what the rest of the chapters are going to be about, which is kind of boring if you ask me. For kids nowadays it starts much earlier, and that absolutely blows my mind. The decision to choose a college to apply to in the first place is pressure enough, so how can we expect children who just learned how to color inside the lines to choose a career? From the first day of kindergarten, they ask us what we want to be when we grow up. My answer was always different­ — a veterinarian, a firefighter, a baker, a professional bike-rider (I made that one up one time to impress a boy), a dancer, a doctor, a gardener, an art teacher, etc. But the truth is, I had no clue. Everyone around me seemed like they knew where they were going in life, and I just made something up each time so no one would question me.

It wasn’t until middle school that I began to find the things I was really good at. I chose choir and band as my electives, mostly so I wouldn’t have to take gym class or weight-lifting. During that first year, I realized I had a knack for singing and a real passion for music, which prompted me to drop band and double-up on my choir classes. My love for music only continued to grow and develop through my high school years when I decided to graduate with a Fine Arts Seal in choir, (yes I know, I was a choir nerd). After then, it was always assumed that I would go into college as a music major and that was that. Career choice made. Problem solved. Let’s do this. Okay — but what am I going to do with a music degree? Anyone who majors in music gets the “you’ll shoot your eye out” speech about actually finding a job when you graduate. So I tweaked my plan, (and by “tweaked” I mean my dad forced me to choose a suitable major that I could actually reap financial benefits from someday), and decided on music education instead. Great. Solid idea. Game plan. Ready, set, go!

I ended up at a wonderful school in the mountains of North Georgia where I flourished as a student, as a musician, and as a person. My classes were going great despite my talents in the art of procrastination. I even got involved in the campus life and around the community, and things were going better than ever. However, at the end of every semester, it seemed, I would have a tiny mental breakdown. I call them my “mid-year crisis,” and they usually went something like, is this really what I’m doing with the rest of my life? Am I even good at this? What if I can’t do this? Maybe I’m not cut out for this, I think I’ll just switch my major. These thoughts made it difficult to really commit to my music education and my decision to continue down this career path. I usually just talked myself into sticking with it, but it never truly worked and I never quite settled into it. In reality, I just felt like a fish out of water.

But then I stopped for a minute and really thought about my life — I am twenty one years old, I have a good sixty-or-so years ahead of me, and a world full of possibilities and pathways. In a society that tries to tell you otherwise, you have time. You have time to contemplate your career choices. You have time to make mistakes. You have time to try new things. You have time to figure out who you are and who you want to be. So why are we in such a hurry to settle? Take chances, go on adventures, do things that push you out of your comfort zone. Don’t decide on a major until you know you are ready. I’m not saying it’s not okay to know what you’re doing because kudos to you, that’s awesome! But for those of us who aren’t ready yet, just know we don’t have to be. I may not have my own life together, but honestly who does, (other than Beyoncé)?

High school was a journey, but college is an adventure, and it’s one we get to create the roadmap to. So take those weird classes you’ve always thought about trying, (bowling class can be fun, or maybe beekeeping!). Join new clubs, and get involved wherever you can (I’d like to start a Netflix & Napping club, but that’s just me). It’s all about exposing ourselves to what’s out there, otherwise we may never know what we’re missing. We owe it to ourselves to allow those experiences to shape our decisions. We don’t have to fit into the mold of successful career by age twenty-five, happily married by age twenty-seven, and two and a half kids by age thirty. We have time to decide. We have time to live — don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.