In kindergarden teachers ask their students what they want to be when they grow up. The answers always vary -- some kids want to be policemen, others want to be super heroes. At five-years-old how much do you really know about professions?
How much do we really know about professions in high school or college, either? We are all working towards the goal of working of dream job, but what if the idea of your dream job is better than the actual job itself? What happens if you get halfway through college and decide you do not want to do everything you have been studying for two years?
This happens to people all the time; that is why the term "super senior" was created. Sometimes, it is not meant in the derogatory way people use it. At times people in college have a life crisis and decide that studying medicine or law or business is not what they want to do. So what are their options? Finish out with the major they have even though they know they will not be happy with it, or take the chance and switch to another major?
Having that internal argument with yourself is not the easiest one to have. You see people driving home from work, carrying their briefcases around, and think, that will be me in a couple of years. But what will you have in that briefcase? Will you be in a white coat with a stethoscope or in a press room with a computer? Will you be happy with the place you end up? Finding all of this out takes some risk and some determination.
Internships are an extremely useful way to find out if the field you want to be in is for you. If you absolutely hate your internship, then you should consider changing you plan.
People on television shows sure have it figured out. Annalise Keating on "How to Get Away with Murder" is sure she wants to be a divorce lawyer, Meredith Grey on "Grey's Anatomy" is sure she wants to be the chief of general surgery. In reality, not all of us are that lucky. TV shows make getting a job and being successful at a job so easy, but in reality it is not that easy.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A simple question in theory but in reality it is a lot more complicated than just an answer. My advice to everyone is not to give up on asking yourself that question. If you know what you want to be than you have achieved something not everyone has. If you are still struggling with being sure you know, keep looking. The answer is out there for you. There is something for everyone to do to make them very happy. The journey to get there is the real struggle, but it is what makes life interesting.
