Four years. That’s what it takes. This year is already almost over. Then there’s three left. Soon we’re at mid-point of a standard college education. It’s so close yet so far away. Senior year hits and everything is on the line. Anything can go wrong, and if it were to happen now, it’s the end. I’m only a college freshman, but I’m already thinking about what’s going to happen after Graduation Day. It’s hard not to. From the first day of Freshman year in high school, the idea of college was reinforced all throughout the four years. Now it’s only instinct that drives me to think about what happens after the ceremony. It’s a fair concern, if you ask me. I mean, after I graduate where will I live? Who will I live with? Will I find a career here or return home to find work opportunities? I highly believe that all freshmen will have these thoughts. If they haven’t already, they probably will soon. Like I said, it’s only natural.
For starters, let me tell you what I already have planned. I want to be an author of books. My back-up is to become a journalist until my book writing gets established. My major is Creative Writing and my minor is Communication Studies. As far as I know, I’m on track for graduation. Most of my general education requirements are out of the way and I can proceed to work on major related course work as early as next semester. It’s all very exciting, and I’m quite proud to have gotten this far. It all feels like a dream.
Onto the long-term goals, my major and minor related course load should equal out to be completed by Graduation Day, perhaps even sooner if summer courses are an option at the time. When this is done, I’ll have to address the aforementioned questions. I’ll have to have answers a solid month beforehand just to have breathing room. How will I answer these questions? I’m glad you asked. At the moment, it would seem traditional to return home to live. However, I love the town that I can call my second home. I wouldn’t mind living in the mountains. There’s beauty everywhere. I know that no matter where I go in this world, I can never forget where I came from. Who will I live with? Assuming (and it’s never good to assume but I feel like this is a pretty harmless thing to assume) that I have a place of my own by that time, which is also questionable, I will probably live alone. If in financial straits, I may even have a roommate. The location of a flourishing career could be extended to just about everywhere. The best part of becoming a writer is that you can write anywhere. Journalism is a bit more complex though. You have to go where you can find news or whenever you find a place that will hire you to find and report the news. To reiterate, either here or my hometown are the ideal locations and at this point, the only locations I can think of.
Skeptics can say there are notable loop-holes in my plans. To them I say, I never said they were perfect. Nothing is perfect and nothing stays the same. So much can happen between now and the big day. It can and will be a wild ride, but I’m hanging on.
