Every day you hear someone complaining about how their life is falling apart, or how they need to get their priorities in order because, "We're in college and we should know exactly what we're doing." There's the keyword: should. Yes, you should probably have some idea of what you're doing with your life in order to keep everything under control. But that doesn't mean we have to have our lives together right now.
It's funny to me because so many people have told me that they're jealous because my life is in order, when really on the inside, I'm a confused mess. I entered college, confident in the fact that I wanted to be a physical therapist, and that wouldn't change. I had my hopes set on going to Mass General Institute of Health Professions for my DPT and got so excited whenever anyone would bring it up. About a year later, and three semesters of college under my belt, my goals are so different. I've changed my mind from physical therapy to occupational therapy to cardiac rehab, and I still have no idea. But right now, that's OK with me.
Not knowing what I wanted in my long-term goals has made me focus more on my short-term goals. How am I supposed to plan five years down the road, if I don't know where I'm going to be? Right now, I'm working on things that aren't major life or career decisions, like where I'm going to live next year at school, or what my job next summer will be. Who knows, maybe where I end up in the coming months will help me figure out the bigger picture.
Every day I see people with their goals set and ingrained in their minds. They plan everything in their life around these permanent ideas, living life on a track that they can't veer from. They'll say things like, "I'm going to graduate in exactly two years with this degree and this minor, move to California, get a job at this certain company, get married when I'm 26, have one boy, one girl, a dog, and that'll be my life."
When I hear this, I'm glad that I don't know. I don't know where I want to live, where I want to work, or how many kids I want. And you know what? It's OK because I'm still successful in everything I'm doing right now. Just because you don't know what you want doesn't mean you're not doing your best, and it sure does not mean you're slacking or need to pull yourself together. Go with the flow, and see where it takes you.
