Do you ever find yourself wondering what the heck you are doing with your life? If so, don't worry. I feel this way almost all the time. While "the college years" are some of the most fun and memorable times of one's life, they are some of the most difficult and challenging as well. No matter what major you are or whatever you want to do with your life, it is so very easy to lose sight of your end goal and forget why you are doing it in the first place, leaving you feeling frustrated, unaccomplished, and unmotivated.
I am currently experiencing this feeling in my life. I feel utterly overwhelmed by the amount of things I have on my plate. Junior year brought with it not just another 17 credit hour course load, but also my junior honors project, research proposal, and defense — all pertaining to my thesis for senior year. It is the year I have to take the DAT and apply for dental school, all on top of trying to work a part time job and obtain shadowing hours, while still trying to have a social life so I don't go crazy. I have gotten frustrated so much this year because even after finishing homework for class, there's always more work I need to be doing — like studying for the DAT or working on my thesis. It's daunting because I never really feel like I am accomplishing anything.
I know I am not the only one trying to do a million things at once, almost every college student's agenda looks like this. It's so easy to get caught up in every little thing and detail and forget why you're doing everything entirely.
I'm writing this particular article because this past week while sitting in physics class (stressed completely out) I got an email saying I was approved to shadow at the dental clinic at Mercy Medical Center. After waiting over a month to be approved, I felt complete relief. In that moment I didn't care that I didn't understand the physics problem because that email reminded me why I was enduring all of the classes anyways. It's entirely too easy to get caught up on getting the best grade or stressing over what classes you still need to take to graduate, but in reality, none of that really matters if you lose sight of what you are doing all of it for. It's important to keep your end goal somewhere you will always be reminded of it, whether that's a mental reminder every morning, or an actual note stuck to your mirror reminding you why you are getting up and conquering that day.
Don't let each little thing discourage you from what you really want to do because when you look back it will be only a tiny portion of what got you to that end point. Everything is going to work out for the best, it always does. So remember why you are doing what you're doing every day, and you will find much more accomplishment and purpose in the things you do.
