When I first started at the University of Cincinnati, I was sure I knew exactly what I wanted to be "when I grew up." I was positive I wanted to major in biology and move straight into med school. Little did I know, my first biology lecture would absolutely kill me, taking my GPA down with it, and after a year-long struggle and a great swallow of my pride, I switched my major. Although I'm fairly certain I'm now headed in the right direction and doing fairly well in all of my classes, I still sometimes question myself. Why didn't I explore this major? I would have loved having that job, why didn't I pursue this career? All of these questions I should have had answered long before my third year in college because we all know switching majors and starting all over again costs you time and money, both very valuable things I am reluctant to give up.
Looking back on it now, I wish I had taken a gap year between my studies. Many believe taking a year off from school seems "lazy" or "irresponsible," but sometimes when the world asks you to make big decisions like what you want to do for the rest of your life, you would benefit from taking some time to think about it. I know it sounds strange, but maybe rack up your hours and earn some extra cash before you go make a deposit on your first apartment, give in to some of your wanderlust before staying at one university for four (or more) years, shadow people in all different careers to explore the thousands of options, spend a little more time at home with your family before taking off and becoming an independent.
It's a scary thought when high school graduation day comes along and you're unsure if you're really ready to start down that path of your lifelong career, when everyone else seems to be ready to get started on growing up. It's OK to be unsure of what you want to do and where you want to end up. Hell, even if you do plan every second of your college career, once you walk across that stage at your college graduation, you may not have any idea what the next step is, where you're going to work, or where you're going to live. Life is fluid and ever-changing; sometimes you need that break from the "normal" path you're "supposed" to follow just to figure out what's best for you because once you step off of that stage for the final time, that's all you need to worry about. Where are you going to work? How are you going to support yourself? What is going to make you happy?
