College is a big time to figure out who you are, who you want to be, where you are going, what you want out of life, etc. You may sometimes feel as if you should have the next 10 years of your life figured out by … yesterday. I feel that a lot. I go through scenarios in my head over and over of if I make this decision then this and this, but if I don’t and do this instead then that and that. Hurts your brain just to read that, doesn’t it? Mine sure does!

One thing I learned from the Women in Statistics and Data Science conference I was able to attend this past weekend (thanks to our great Mount Holyoke!) is that we do not need to do this. Yet, a lot of us still do. The seasoned female statisticians shared with us:

Life does not follow a linear path – the linear path we try so hard to make fit.

We change predictors to hopefully predict a certain response. We manipulate, we change, we shift. Yet, life is not linear. It is all over the place. Our model can be so far off. Life moves around us and we just need to keep up. We had to make adjustments to our model and step away from the comfort of linearity. And you know what? That’s the best part. It's more exciting, more sophisticated, more extravagant.

Here’s another way to think about it. Imagine life as one huge puzzle. We try so hard to fit pieces together, at times, because we just want to see the end picture. We want a better idea of what it will look like in the end. We want to know what we are building for. But, some pieces just don’t fit together. So, you must throw one aside and try another. You might move to a whole other part of the puzzle. You’ll jump around until you can see things fitting together. Sometimes things will jump out at you that you had never expected to see. Usually, those turn out to be the most beautiful parts – if you just keep moving. Keep picking up the pieces and making them fit.

So, college students. Just keeping doing as much as you can every day. Take one day at a time. Keep the predictors you know are significant. Keep the pieces you know will complete the puzzle. Sometimes you think one fits and you must toss it aside. It can be hard, but to keep going. Don’t get too caught up in the – what’s next. Find the things that fit and keep them. If you’re building a model of your life, subset forward, never back. Look ahead and try your best every single day. Each day is a new start. Let it be just that.

I say what matters is that at the and of it all, we skid into home base - sweat dripping dripping down our faces as we say, “Man, what a ride!”