Here it comes: Graduation. This day brings so many people so much joy. Finally free of school! No more late nights in the library, no more 8 a.m. classes, no more finals, no more term papers. Finally free! But, amidst all this joy and relief, you realize that the end of college means the beginning of something else, the rest of your life.
People in college fall on a spectrum all the way from those who (like me) have known what they want to do since a very young age to those who have literally no idea all the way up through the second they get their diploma. This is totally normal. Figuring out what career you want to stick with for the rest of your life is a terrifying prospect. Even within my own certainty, I changed my majors and minor at least four times before settling in where I am. Even then, I took so many outside classes that I was interested in, I ended up with an accidental double major. There are still days where I wake up and question if college was even the right choice for me if I should have chosen a completely different career path.
Graduating brings a whole new level to this uncertainty. It feels like all of my friends have jobs lined up, have graduate school, have a year off, a fellowship. The small group who have no clue what's next feel alone and overwhelmed. There is both a world of options and nothing to be found when it comes to the job market and graduate school.
Some people do have their minds made up because it is a path they decide to follow. People who want to be doctors got to medical school lawyers go to law school, accountants get a masters and (sometimes) a CPA, religious leaders go through their own training, etc.
But, people who do not know where they want to be, what they want to do can find this time to be nerve-wracking. It's totally fine to not know. One of my best friends, one of the happiest people I know, had no clue what he wanted. He actually took time off college and worked jobs he did not like to pay the bills. After years and after so much trial and error, he found his passion and is starting his own record label.
Life is about figuring things out. Ask some people and they'll tell you what society has ingrained in their heads: you have to know what you want to be starting in high school, get as much experience as possible, and devote the rest of your life to working. But I do not believe this is a way to live. Yes, you will be able to find a job and make money in the respective field you decide to follow from that young age. But, I think we were put on this planet to do more than grow up, work, pay bills, and die. Don't you?
