Every college student, and even individuals currently in their career paths struggle with the decision of what to do in life. There are some people that, for as long as they remember, they’ve wanted to be a teacher or a doctor or work on Wall Street. I, however, am not one of those people. I often find myself wondering where I actually want to be in five, ten or even twenty years down the road. Every time I’m sure I’ve figured it out, something comes along and makes me question my purpose all over again.

Here are the things I know for sure. I want to do work I am passionate about, I want to wake up every day and not grudgingly sigh about having to go to my job. I want to do something that I will excel at because it’s something I love and something that utilizes my strengths. And of course, my main goal is to be happy, to be satisfied with my life choices. These all sound delightful, but how am I going to ensure I achieve these goals? I guess there is no guarantee that the path I choose will supply me with definite happiness.

Maybe the time will come where I’ll come to the conclusion that there is one thing I absolutely 100 percent want to pursue, who knows. Within the past week, I’ve gone from wanting to pursue research in developmental psychology, to being a social worker, then back to my original plan of going to law school. Lots of things play into these decisions, whether it be a small comment made by a friend that makes me stop and think about myself and the effect I have on others or my reflective nature which causes me to analyze every detail of my life, and in turn, overthink every decision I’ve ever made, a meeting with my career advisor which causes extreme nausea and anxiety or a class discussion that leads me to believe I want to go into a different career. Each day is filled with more encounters that make me question where I am going in life.

I often times envy those people that seem to have it all figured out, but at the same time exploring my options and going through the journey of not knowing what I want but knowing that I will one day find what I want is a blessing in disguise. I have time to figure it out and the time to switch lanes in life never ends. If, at fifty years old, I choose to pursue another career and go down another path, that’s okay. My fate is not sealed after receiving my degrees in my twenties, the options are always endless and they are always available.