It's OK To Not Have Your Life Planned Out

I have always been a planner. It's just who I am. A lot of people say that they aren't comfortable with uncertainty, but I take it to a whole new level. I absolutely can't stand the idea of uncertainty clouding any aspect of my life. I need to be aware of the path that I'm on and where I'm headed. I don't like to leave things up to chance - I like to be able to take full control of my life.

Going into college, I thought I had it all figured out. During my senior year of high school, I targeted my future career and had that affect all of my decisions in regards to the future. My program of study was only offered at three of the schools in my state, so this chosen career path heavily influenced where I ended up going to college. I planned out all the courses that I needed to take over the next four years, and already had my post-grad plans outlined. With these plans in place, I felt very certain about my future.

Certainty is an incredibly short-lived thing. As I navigated my way through my freshman year of college, I started to realize that everything I had planned for myself wasn't the right fit for me personally. I began to doubt myself and even started to dread having to take all the courses I needed in order to get a degree in my chosen program. The thought of switching my major scared me, and I never thought I would be one of these people who couldn't decide what to major in.

However, I took the plunge. I switched my major and minor and began a fresh start in my undergraduate studies for sophomore year. And you know what? I strongly believe that it was the best decision I've ever made. So not only did I completely change the course of my life, I was perfectly content with it.

I thought that if I changed my major, I would not be able to graduate time or would have to scramble in order to take all the classes that were required for completing the degree. But by some miracle, it turns out that not only will I graduate on time, I might even be able to graduate a whole semester early, something that wouldn't have been possible if I stuck to my original plan. It's amazing what kind of unforeseen opportunities can appear once you decide to follow your heart instead of your brain.

I encourage you to resist the urge to plan out every second of your life and instead just do what you think is right and watch it play out for itself. I know more than anyone how difficult it is to relinquish this kind of control, but the possible outcome is well worth it.