When you graduate high school, and actually even before then, it seems that the question “what are you going to do after college?” being raised is almost a daily occurrence. Whether it’s your teachers, your parents, or your friends, you cannot shy away from the thoughts that take over your mind when those words are directed at you.
From the time we are children, we are told that we have to have at least an idea of what we want to do for the rest of our lives. That’s a stressful idea as it is, and it becomes even more so as you grow older and closer to actually living in the adult world. When you reach college, you might think you know what you want to do, and you might not. For some people, like myself, you begin to change your mind over and over. I have transferred schools, considered going away, decided to stay home and changed my major. Three times. What I have learned so far from my experience is this, you can’t be afraid to change your mind. You shouldn’t be expected to have your life figured out at 18, and you sure as hell don’t need to know it in college completely. Sure, if you have a clear-cut path to something you know is your calling, that’s great. However, there are many of us college students who are figuring it out as we go.
As I stated before, I have changed universities, changed majors and changed attitudes toward a lot of things in my two years post-high school. I don’t regret it. Many young adults fear that after so much time, they have fallen into a pit of pre-requisites and FAFSA checks that make it too late to change their minds. What I am telling you from experience is that if you develop a plan of action and work toward your current (and perhaps new) goal in place, you can accomplish anything you put your mind to, no matter how cliché it sounds.
Despite the changes I have made, for the most part I have been able to formulate a way for myself to get to where I want to be in the next few years, even without a specific career in mind. How have I done that? I’ve begun taking chances and trying new things, whether it be taking an internship or trying something I haven’t before, simply to see if I enjoy it. College is all about finding yourself and discovering who you are supposed to become. That’s why the question of “what are you going to do after college?” is so ridiculous to ask us at this time of our lives. We don’t know. But we are here to figure it out no matter how long it takes us, and we have the potential to end up doing a lot of special things.
