Sometimes, I wake up, and I’m like, “I’m going to do big things today,” and by big things, I mean maybe I’ll go to all of my classes, maybe I’ll start that homework assignment that’s due at 11:59 p.m. and maybe I’ll even go to the gym. But really, what I’m going to end up doing is finishing an entire season of that Netflix show I just started.
Sometimes, I’ll get 300 likes on an Instagram, I’ll tweet something that grows to be really popular or I’ll get an A on an exam. And then I’m like, “I’m not going to just do big things today, but I’m gonna do big things in life.” That small glimpse of hope is shattered when I am brought back to the reality I don’t even know what I want to do with my life.
I don't know if that annoying group chat you are in is what is keeping you up at night, but what is keeping me up is that feeling of losing and being unlucky because I don't know what I want to do with my life. I am that college student, who started off in Exploratory Studies and three years later has declared a major in something just because I had to, but I’m really still exploring and hoping the credits I am accumulating along the way somehow amount to something in the end. One night, I was able to fall asleep because the group chat was quiet, and I was no longer feeling sorry for myself. I realized not knowing is an advantage and has opened so many doors to opportunities for me. If you don’t know what you want to do with your life, congratulations; we are the lucky ones. Because we aren’t too sure what we want to do, we can try as many majors as we want; we can do it all.
I feel all suffocated and panicky when I start wondering what it must be like to be tied down to the same major since freshman year. I can’t help but think sometimes a person is just hanging on to their majors the way someone would hang on to a relationship that just isn’t working. There is nothing there, no passion, no connection, but they settle; they refuse to let go because they are comfortable. If you don’t know what to do with your life, congratulations; we are the lucky ones because we don’t settle and (maybe we don’t like to but) we have to take risks.
I imagine it is probably also nice to have that sense of security that you know you are guaranteed a job sitting in an office chair and staring at a computer for the rest of your life because your resume is perfectly organized, so every job you have ever had aligns perfectly with what you want to do. If you don’t know what you want to do with the rest of your life, congratulations; we are the lucky ones because we can take that job selling turkey legs at Walt Disney World or the job working as a birthday party princess. I will let you in on a little secret: We are the lucky ones because we can have a wide range of different experiences, and sometimes, because your resume stands out, that will land you the job.
If you don’t know where you are going or what you are doing with your life, congratulations because you have a few things going for you. You can try it and do it all until you find your right fit; you don’t have to settle; you can take risks, and you have a long list of different experiences on your resume. If you don’t know what you want to do, I will tell you what you need to do: You need to stop worrying because you are going to be OK.
