Dear Clueless College Freshman,

I’m so, so sorry to have confused you all of these years you’ve chased after me, looking for something in particular you thought I was. I don’t know if it was a trick the lights played on your eyes or a momentary flash of the clothes I wear, but there isn’t a version of me that exists in which you have life completely figured out. There isn’t an outfit I can change into that shows you settled in at perfect peace with yourself and those around you, looking down your nose and laughing at the poor souls still scrambling to follow after their unknown purpose. No matter what, you're going to end up where you end up. That’s just how the cards fall.

Listen. Hear me out. I know you’re looking for the moment in which everything clicks into place, that instant where both on paper and in real life, the word “undecided” vanishes into thin air and is replaced by real, viable substance which you can study, pursue, and use to create your own personalized version of me. You’ve heard countless individuals offer advice that all falls along the same line: “You’re just a freshman, you’ve got plenty of time to figure things out. Don’t worry about it.” So now you’re lying in wait, ready to pounce the second “plenty of time” is up on whatever happens to come your way. You’re waiting for time to build a better me as you stand watch, knocking out general education requirements and wondering at what hour your passion will be born.

And every once in a while, you can’t fall asleep because you’re up thinking about what would happen if you never found whatever it is you need. That undeniable urge towards action burns in your chest, but the fear of following the wrong life path and ending up in a miserable future haunts you to your core, keeping you from searching, from even moving. So you try to push away the thoughts of never even having dreams, let alone being able to chase them, and instead splatter the inside of your mind with your favorite fake version of me.

But my friend, it’s time to start moving.

Please, don’t let the fear of failure keep you from ever trying. Don’t let the “plenty of time” stretched out before you be wasted by inaction and doubt on your own abilities. It will not be easy to attempt subjects and activities you see yourself having no interest in, but you may very well find something with which your mind and heart fall deeply in love. And it’s okay that you fiercely wish to know what you’ll be doing when later comes.

You want a purpose; it’s a fact of life. You don’t want to spend any more time failing to do what you were meant to do. So don’t be afraid to be nervous at not knowing what you will do when you reach me. Channel that nervousness into an energy of excitement to motivate yourself into action.

As you make the decision to move, your life will move with you. Instead of being mired in restlessness and frustration, it will begin to awaken, finding bridges from one area of potential interest to the next, discovering treasures of memories, joy, and passion scattered across the different paths you search. You will hone your skills, uncover new ones, and build a route to me you may not have even thought possible.

And when that route has caught up to me, I might not look exactly how you expected. But after you have taken the time to work, fight, and dream to get to where you’re going, I truly think you’ll be pleased with what you’ll see.

All the best,

The Future