There are a series of questions that we all get asked at some point in our lives about what we have planned for our futures. What schools are you looking at? Have you gotten accepted yet? What is your major going to be? What are you going to do with the rest of your life?
These questions float around in our minds constantly because we have so many people expecting us to have our minds made up by the time we graduate from high school. There is enough stress put on us to figure out how to balance school, extracurricular activities, a social life, and sleep. On top of all of that, we have to maintain a 4.0 GPA, be actively involved in every club, score well on our ACT and SAT. We are all put through the ringer because we are expected to achieve greatness. We are told that we should shoot for the stars and try to get into the top schools. We are told to pick a practical major so that we can support ourselves and a family.
We are told to do so many things with our lives by people who won't even be part of it later on. Why do we need to meet the expectations of people who mean nothing to us? Why do we even need expectations at all? If they're necessary then why can't the greatest expectation be for all of us to be happy? Why isn't happiness enough for everyone?
Why should I, and other students, have to sit up at night doing hours upon hours of homework, pulling our hair out when we can't solve a problem, just to get an education that may never help me in my future? Why should I have people telling me to "follow my dreams" only to have them turn around and say my dreams are "too unreasonable" or "too out-there". Why can't I feel comfortable enough to proudly state that I have no idea what I want to do with my life?
Isn't life a constant learning process? We all make mistakes and have to learn from them. So why do we need to be told what to do? Is it to keep us from making the mistakes of others? If we look at history then we can see that that never helped us much. Is it to keep us on track? Yes, keep us on the track that someone else deemed to be correct and, thus, created a standard that society must meet. Or maybe, just maybe, they don't want us to have a sense of individuality or freedom. We are supposed to be free to choose the kind of life we live, but when we decide to go against societal norms, it's bad. But, that's only because we have these societal norms set up! If only it could be normal for us to not have a clue what we want to do!
I may be rambling, but I do not want to keep having nervous breakdowns because I feel as though I have no future. I am still so young and all I want to do is live. I don't want to doubt myself, but it is so hard when no one is there to lift you up and tell you that it's okay to not know. It's okay to be worried about your future. It's okay to want to change things up and look at all of your options. It's okay to go back to school if you feel you need to. It's okay to not go to school at all. It is okay to live your life the way you want to.
Most of all, what I want to hear is that it's okay to be happy, even if it means going against what others tell you. It is okay to be who you are and to study what you want to study. Everything will work out in the end.
I know that we are told to have it all figured out by the time we walk across that stage, but it is completely acceptable no to. If someone says otherwise, then it is ultimately up to you whether or not you want to listen to them or yourself.
