When I graduated high school in what seems to be a lifetime ago, I had a plan. I wanted to be a chef; in fact, I'd wanted this since the day I figured out how to climb up onto the counter to watch my dad make pancakes on a lazy Saturday morning. Food was my passion, so why not fuel the fire and make it a career? My plan was straightforward and foolproof: attend culinary school at a community college, pay for it without debt, and graduate with an associates degree that would propel my entry into the food world.

Not all plans go as expected. I love food in a "this is the greatest thing that has ever happened to my life and I can now die happy because I know that this meal was incredible and divine" kind of way. I love to cook food, watch videos about food, eat food - seriously, food is my one true love. But, I did not like being in school for it. After taking a few classes, I realized that being a chef wouldn't satisfy the constant desire I have to be in a workplace that I am truly in love with. I want to wake up early each morning and be excited about the fact that I get to make money doing what I love. Culinary school didn't do that for me.

Time for a new plan.

Fast forward two years, three degree changes, and three different colleges, and I believe that I have finally found the right path for my future. Some have called me indecisive, and I'm not going to lie and say that I have always known exactly what I wanted. There are days when I even wonder if I should be in college at all. Through countless advising appointments, hours of career research, and far too much number-crunching (a four-year education is freaking expensive!!!), I struggled to figure out where God would have me in life. Choosing a degree is no light decision, and I wanted to be one hundred percent positive that I was choosing a path that I would still have passion for in thirty years.

As I finish up my junior year of college, I have no regrets. Because I spent so much time mulling over the perfect path for my education, I am loving my degree more than I ever thought was possible. At my high school commencement ceremony, if you had asked me how interested I was in politics, my answer would have been returned in the form of a blank stare. Ask me that today and the answer will be a night and day difference. It's funny how things change, isn't it?

When people tell you that you need to figure out your life/college/major/everything under the sun, don't take it to heart. I can't tell you how many times people have looked at me and said "You changed your major again?!?" Yeah, I did, get over it. At times you may wish that you had a solid plan, because it sure seems like everyone around you does. I promise that it will be worth the extra time (and maybe even money in some cases) to change your plan into something that will fuel your fire. These are the best years of our lives, so learn, explore, take chances, and trust. Take a new class that has nothing to do with your major, and who knows, you might just discover that an associates degree in culinary school should really be a bachelor's degree in political science.