To The College Graduate With No Immediate Plans,

This might be coming from someone who just finished up her freshman year of college, but trust me I know what I'm saying. I know it's scary. You're going into the real world - for real this time. Looking back, graduating high school and getting put into college also seemed terrifying because it was something new. But when there's something new, there's adventure. And when there's adventure, you can never go wrong. You might not know what you want to do or where you want to go, and I know exactly what you need to hear: that's completely okay.

It's okay to go home and live with your parents and try and figure everything out. It's okay to move away and get a job like fast food or retail or something that isn't "fancy" or "well paid". It's okay to accept an internship that may or may not be paid and work from there. Above all, though, it's okay to not even have any of these plans yet. You have reached a moment in your life where all your years of schooling, of experience, of growth, has gotten stuck on an in between of taking the world into the palm of your hands and feeling like you're six feet under in confusion. It's scary to step into a world of adulthood and making yourself be where you want to be, but you can do it. Through it all you have gotten through elementary school, middle school, high school and now, college. You have overcome every obstacle, every hoop to jump through, everything. You have made it to a place where you have been able to overcome everything and now, you're stepping into the real world.

Thinking about a future is scary. I'm going into my sophomore year of college and I'm already getting the overwhelming thoughts on what I want to do and where I want to go. It's scary, feeling like you have no plan and nothing is set in stone. But sometimes, you have to come out of your comfort zone. And this is more than any a time to do it. It may be terrifying, you may feel like nothing good will ever come your way, but do not give up. I have watched so many of my senior friends this year develop fears that nothing will come of them; and yet they are the most dedicated, most hardworking people I know who will definitely go far in life. You may doubt yourself too, but the sky is really the limit. You have friends, family, faculty members that all love and support you and would do anything to see you succeed. Do not be afraid to do what's best for you and above all, stay positive no matter what. You are stepping into a new chapter in your life and what is more exciting than that? You get to create who you are from what you have done and there is nothing more magical.

With that, I give you a congratulations on making it through and graduating college. May your mind let your dreams become reality, and may you become all that you've ever wanted to be.

Sincerely,

A College (Almost) Sophomore Who Believes In You