When we are younger everything is easy. We don’t have any responsibilities like school or jobs. We don’t have any decisions to make, bills to pay or anyone to take care of because mom and dad had all that covered. But before we know it we blink and then we’re faced with all of the above times 10. I think we can all agree that life is definitely challenging. We are faced with multiple ups and downs daily. And sometimes we may think we don’t have it all together, but that’s okay because being unsure for awhile gets you to the right place after all.

Take my word for it when I say I thought I had it all figured out freshman year. The key word there is ‘thought.’ I was going to school to be an x-ray technician and it was a two-year program, meaning that just a short two years in school and a couple big tests at the end and I was done. That is if I passed everything. Thinking back it kind of sucks knowing that I could be done with school right now working in a hospital with a real job at just 20 years old. But after my first semester freshman year something in me snapped and I realized I wasn’t happy. In that moment the hardest pill for me to swallow was having to say to myself “I guess I really don’t have it all figured out huh?” I guess I was also worried about trying to hurry up and find my way and tell all my friends and family that I had chosen to change my major.

After I decided that being an x-ray technician wasn't for me I changed my major to Community Health, then shortly after I changed it to Sociology and finally to what I am majoring in now, which is English Writing. Looking back I know that I was too focused on making sure I had a major. It made me feel like I had everything figured out. But a major doesn't define you. I wish I had known that when I was a freshman, that a major doesn't define you. I was stressing myself out too much by running around trying to find my way and just picking anything that sounded interesting because I was scared that I was going to get behind and be judged. One of the scariest questions during that time was “So what’re you going to school for?” I dreaded that question because I felt like I had to tell them something or else I wouldn’t look smart or I wouldn’t look put together. I was more focused on what everyone else thought than what I thought, but I shouldn't have been that way.

Yeah college is tough, but it’s meant to be that way. We all need to be challenged so we know what we’re made of. It gets us ready for the real world. But we aren’t all the same coming into college. Some of us come in with a mindset of what we want to study and stick with it and do exactly that when we graduate. Some of us come in with absolutely no clue and come out with a degree that we never thought we would do. And then there's some of us like me, who come in with one idea but then change it a couple times. It doesn’t matter which one of these fits you because our major doesn't define us and it doesn't matter if you’re a little confused and you haven’t found your niche yet because one day you will.

I wanted to write this to the college students who feel like they don't have it all together because sometimes being unsure for awhile gets you to the right place. We will all find our place sooner or later so there’s no rush. People say that not having it all together is a bad thing but it’s really not, you’ll get there I promise.