Senior year. A time for mental breakdowns and questioning all major life decisions. Did I choose the right major? Did I take all the necessary classes? Did I do enough to get the experience I need for jobs? Am I even ready for a job in the real world? Am I really ready to leave behind the comforts of college and step out on my own? Did I do enough during my time in college?
With only two semesters left before I once again cross the stage, signaling the end of one era and the beginning of the next, I have begun to ask myself these questions. My final semesters approached way too quickly and I am in that final stretch before the real world. I never switched majors, but I did have multiple times where I questioned whether I should. I felt like I didn’t have the same skills as some of my peers within in the advertising and public relations major. It seemed like every single one of them had their life figured out well before they even got accepted into the major. I was questioning whether I fit in among those with their life pretty much figured out. But then, I was accepted into the major on my first try. So, maybe I was on the right track to figuring out where I wanted to go. Then came the fact that I had very little exposure to this world. I didn’t even know public relations was a thing until my mom steered me in this direction, away from the world of journalism where I originally thought I would go. I leaned more and more about this vast field of possibilities and decided that I would do whatever I could to catch up.
I quickly realized that it would take a lot more than wishful thinking to catch up. I felt myself working harder than I thought others were, yet I still felt behind. So once again, I questioned my decision on this major. Why would I continuously subject myself to feeling inadequate? Because, I am not inadequate. I am exactly where I need to be. I’m not on the same path as everyone else is in the major. While everyone else seems to want to head down the corporate path, or maybe be the publicist for a celebrity, I turned down the path of wanting to work where I play: theme parks.
Like the average college student during their senior year, I have begun to question every decision I have made leading up to this point, and probably will continue to do so until I walk across that stage at graduation, and even beyond. It is incredibly scary to think that soon I will be leaving behind the comforts of school for the real world, but I think that I will be ready. Besides, I still have time before I cross that stage and receive my diploma. Of course, if college senior year is anything remotely similar to high school senior year, it is going to be over in the blink of an eye. I just hope I am ready.
