As I walk to class on a Monday morning, I often ponder about where my destiny will be. I look at myself, my major, and my goals in life...Wait, what are my goals in life? I guess that’s the real question we should be asking ourselves. What are our goals in life? Do you ever realize that sometimes you don’t have any goals to go off of or have never even thought about creating a goal because you know it is going to change? It’s okay to create goals because your future is never set in stone. Even though you set goals, sometimes they may change in the blink of an eye. Yet, I tend to feel that I have to have concrete goals. Yes, being a nursing major is rough, but sometimes I question why I chose nursing, to begin with, or what brought me into the field if I don’t really know what exactly it is that I am going to do with it. I worry every day that I will be that one person who will change my major a thousand times because I will never know what my future will hold. I also take into consideration what others are doing with their majors or what they have planned out for their future. Well, that doesn’t really help, does it? It only makes me worry more because then I have all these people’s futures on my mind and I often start to ask myself, what if I did that, or why can’t I know what the hell I’m doing with my future? Yes, it is interesting to know what other people’s goals are in life, but it won’t matter to you or help you at all because you aren’t them. Stop trying to be them because you will never succeed. Find who you want to be, I promise it isn’t as hard as you think. Always remember another thing, you are not alone.

I think that the future is one of the biggest things that college students find themselves worrying about. The majority of freshman and sophomores really don’t know what the hell they are doing with their lives. Yeah, most college students have their major picked out, but do they really know what they are doing with it? I can tell you right now, there are about a million different things I could do with the major that I am currently in. If anyone were to ask me what I plan on doing in the workforce, I would tell him or her, “I have absolutely no idea”. I could plan to do one thing right now, but give me about a month or two, and I’ll have my mind changed. Of course, I get anxious sometimes because I don’t have anything in particular that I am planning on doing in mind, but does anyone really know where they will end up until they are actually out of college and in the workforce? It is okay to feel like this. Don’t feel pressured to make up your mind the very first day of college. That’s why I always hate when people ask me, "What do you want to be when you get out of college?” , because to be quite honest, I have no freaking idea. Isn’t that why I am in college; to figure out what I want to do? Freshmen never have their minds made up that quickly. It may seem like it, but usually, it isn't until about junior or senior year that you are confident in what you want to be. Even then, there are still people out there that come back to college because what they started with isn’t what they really wanted to be. So, it is okay that you have no idea what you are doing or where you are going because none of us truly do.

Walking around a college campus, you don’t always see the guilt, the stress, the uncertainty that we all have. No one wants to show it because it puts on the persona of a vulnerable human being. People never want to show their weaknesses, so they hide behind a smile on their face. Don’t do that. You are not alone. We are all going through the same thing. Some better than others, but don’t be afraid to ask for help. Instead of saying, “I am so alone in this,” find those people who feel the same way you do. I can guarantee that if you look up from your phone, about a foot away, that person is just like you; scared for their future. Reveal yourself to others, because you may just have something in common.

Here’s an allegory that my boyfriend always reminds me of whenever I feel lost: Life is like a voyage across the ocean. You are on a boat in the middle of the ocean. It is just open waters all around you; nothing is in site. You look out and there are no landmarks; just open water. You are all alone and it makes you feel worried. One day you see a shoreline. It is super far away and you have no idea if you will ever get to it. That shoreline is your goal, or your future; sometimes you drift towards it, sometimes you drift away. However, one day, you will make it to that shoreline. It may take a while and you may go through thunderstorms or you may go through beautiful days, but I promise that you will make it to that shoreline one day. So open up those sails and let the wind guide you towards your destiny.