First things first: you are not alone, and nothing is wrong with you if you do not have everything figured out. Even if it appears that everyone else has every detail of their futures outlined, I guarantee they do not.
We live in a world where we are allowed to drive a car at age of 16, go to war at 18 and drink alcohol at age 21. But, on top of that, we are expected to have the rest of our lives figured out by the time we graduate high school. This is our reality yet it is so unrealistic.
How are we supposed figure out what to do, where to go, and how to do that when all we have accomplished in school is sat in a classroom for 6 hours everyday? I genuinely believe that high schools across the country are not properly educating their students how to properly prepare for the future. However, I am not discounting all teachers in general because I have had some AMAZING teachers in high school.
But, what I remember learning from those teachers has nothing to do with their expertise on The Civil War or The Pythagorean Theorem. The most influential teachers I ever had helped me identify what I was passion about, which is something that most teachers neglect to do. So, it is not your fault if you have not been guided enough to figure out what you are interested in by the time you walk across the stage to receive your diploma.
Once we graduate, we are left to fend for ourselves. Many high school graduates go to junior colleges, universities, the armed forces, or just go directly into the working world. But, whatever you have decided to do, you are not making the wrong choice. It is normal to change your major 4 times. It is normal if you have already gone through your first year of college and still have not decided on the career you are going to pursue. It is normal if you take a gap year after high school. It is normal to drop out of college (ahem multimillionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg). It is normal to question literally everything you ever thought you believed in.
With each and every experience we are learning something about ourselves, whether it is good or bad. The best way to find yourself is through experience, because we may think we like or dislike something, but will never know unless we have tried. So, try absolutely everything that you can- say yes to every opportunity you are presented with: take a job in a different town, travel abroad, take a year off school, join clubs, volunteer, read a book, hangout with someone you normally wouldn't, but, most importantly do not give up on yourself, even if you are in a rut. Determining what you are going to do with the rest of your life can be one of the most stressful and important things you do in life, but it does not need to be rushed even if you feel like it does.
So, young-adult who is still trying to figure things out, embrace the unknown! This is the most selfish we are allowed to be in our lives, so let yourself be selfish! But, please remember that most other twenty-somethings have no idea what they are doing either, so maybe we can figure it out together.
