In this day and age, there is so much pressure placed on students to have their futures figured out before they even get to college. We live in a constantly advancing society dominated by technology and young people determined to make their way in the world. Things aren't like they used to be when our parents were going through school. Now there are so many more opportunities for young people to take advantage of, but with these opportunities comes intense competition.
There is always someone who wants what you want or is doing exactly what you've been trying to do. The intensity characterizing the current generation of career-driven students fosters the idea that they need to know their path and the steps they will take before they even step foot on a college campus. Don't get me wrong, kids do need to figure it out eventually, and it does take hard work and time, but there is also nothing wrong with not having a plan.
I am one of those people who never knew what they wanted to do with their future. Before I left for college, people would ask me what I planned on studying, and I gave my honest answer: I have no idea. They would then proceed to ask me what I was interested in. I gave them that same answer. Listening to myself say those words over and over didn't exactly inspire a sense of confidence within myself. It only got worse when I came to school and was surrounded by a student body so academically focused with their whole futures seemingly mapped out. I went through my entire freshman year still not having a clue what I was even drawn to in terms of an area of study. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even my summer job would bring about those same questions about my ambiguous future, and I still couldn't come up with any answers.
I would hide how scared I was. I would play it off, telling myself and others, "It's fine, I'll figure it out." But as time went on and I started to finish the required classes that acted as my cover, I really started to stress. This stress stemmed from the common expectation of students needing a plan to remain on track. Well, I had no plan, and I was positively freaked out. But I continued on, and things actually began to clear themselves up. I realized I didn't need to be worrying myself like I had been for years. It's OK not knowing what you're doing with your life. It's OK not to have a single plan regarding your future. People say this all the time, but everything actually will work out the way it's supposed to. I have only just figured out what I'm going to study, and yeah, it is a bit late, but it doesn't matter. There is no real timeline. Some kids will have it figured out early on, and that's great. They know what they want, and there is nothing wrong with that either. But to the kids that don't, it's OK.
I still have no idea what I'm going to do with my life, but I'm finally going to be able to answer at least one of those questions to which I never had an answer, and I know the rest of those answers are right around the corner.
