Yes, The Future Is Terrifying, But You Are Not Alone In You Fears
It is actually OK to not know what the next step of your life entails.
Recently, I have been really struggling with figuring out what I want to do for a career or just with my life as a whole. As a college sophomore, everyone tells you that "you have time" and to not worry, because "you will eventually figure it out." However, as right as they probably are, this does not reduce any ounce of stress within me. This is mostly because, yes, things will eventually be figured out, but they won't figure themselves out on their own. We might "have time" to make our life choices, but we still have to start thinking about them now.
As students, we are faced with an overwhelming amount of decisions that we have to make on our own in order to move on to the next step in life. And, I don't know about anyone else, but I definitely do not feel qualified to decide parts of my future right now as a teenager.
Nonetheless, we have to do it and we will (hopefully) get it done.
Now, even though I have been a complete wreck lately when it comes to making decisions and thinking about my future plans, I'm slowly trying to show myself that it is actually OK to not know what the next step of my life entails. It is perfectly fine to feel overwhelmed by the open-endedness and by the options because there are a lot of them! You can pretty much do whatever you set your heart to nowadays; it's just figuring out what your heart wants that's the difficult part.
However, we all have to take a second to step back from the decisions and evaluate ourselves. Are you doing what is truly right for you? Am I? We are the only ones that can answer these questions, so sit on them for a while. College is only four years long. To some, this seems like a lifetime. To others, four years is absolutely nothing. But, it's important to remember that college isn't for everyone. Partaking in four consecutive academic years isn't for everyone either! Gap years, part-time schooling, online classes, or even just holding off from school for a while are all completely viable options and will still allow you to succeed.
As important as college is, in the grand scheme of things it also may not be that important. Use it to your advantage. Major in everything that you find a passion in, or try out obscure classes to weasel out what you hate. No matter where life takes you, know that you do not have to compare your progress with anyone else. You will find your calling, even if it takes a little bit longer than expected.
