College is a time for questioning lots of things; who should I be surrounding myself with? Is this the right college for me? And most importantly, what do I want to do with my life? After high school, it seems like we had just a few seconds to pick a major and then all of a sudden we were signing ourselves up for courses with no clue on what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives.
Giphy
The scariest part about college is that it seems like everyone else has their lives together and their future in full pursuit. It feels like we're the only ones clueless as to what we'll be doing for the rest of our lives. But the reality is, most people don't have an exact image of what they want to do. Sure, we all have to declare a major at some point in our college career, but that doesn't mean we have a specific job in mind.
Here are a few things to remember when you feel lost in your college career:
1. Picking a major isn't a life or death situation.
When there's lots of majors to choose from, it's a little intimidating. But it's not a life or death situation. There's tons of jobs you can get with any given Bachelor's degree. For example, if you're a business major, you could get a job in sales, marketing, you could be a manager, a director, so on and so forth. Picking one major does not mean picking one career.
Giphy
2. You are not wasting your time or money in school.
When we're unsure of ourselves, it feels like we're wasting our time and money and putting ourselves under stress for no reason. It would just be easier to give up, right? Wrong. Even if you feel like a degree in your major may not get you anywhere, it can certainly get you farther than if you didn't have one. Hiring managers just want to see that you have a college degree. If it's not in the major of their choice, they might be willing to compromise and just train you on what you need to know for the job. Plus, college isn't a waste of money when it's the best time of your life.
Giphy
3. You're not alone
Look around. The people sitting next to you in your classes and the people riding on the bus with you are probably just as lost as you think you are. College is a time for finding yourself, and nobody can find themselves without being lost first. You and your peers are going through a transition phase and it's not unusual to be lost.
NewNowNext
4. Breathe.
It's important to take a step back and realize that life isn't as serious as we make it out to be. Everything will work out in the end. If you have to switch majors, go for it. It's highly unlikely that someone cruises through college without switching their majors or minors. College isn't a cookie cutter experience for everyone. Some people graduate in 3 years, some graduate in 5 years. The 4 year plan is what's ideal, but what's ideal for some is not what's ideal for all.
Shape.com
Keep these things in mind when you're stressing yourself out about college. Nobody has the same college experiences, but almost everyone feels hopeless at one point or another.
