As I get ready to go into my final year at Queen’s U, several people have been asking me the same question: “What do you want to do after?” Let me tell you right off the bat, I have no idea.
That dreaded question, that I’m sure all people face right after they graduate, has haunted me for the entirety of my summer. My family, coworkers, friends, etc. all asking the same thing. “Well, what do you want to be?” It is not that easy.
I’ve studied a multitude of courses over my years at Queen’s including sociology, film, gender studies, entrepreneurship classes and many more. And yet, I still do not know what my passion is. Is it Marketing, Public Relations, Event planning, nothing? The question is haunting my mind as my days as a student are numbered.
With this question, comes my repeated reply, “…I’m not exactly sure yet!’ I say this with a smile on my face every time, acting as if it doesn’t terrify me that I have no idea what I am going to do after May rolls around. Do I apply for a Masters program? Do I apply for a certificate program? Do I find myself a job? I have no idea. One thing I have learned though, as my time at Queen’s comes to a close, is that it is okay to not know. It is okay to go into something blindly, and see where the universe takes you.
Why is it that we have to make these huge decisions in our lives so early on? At 17 years old we are still forced to ask permission to go to the bathroom, and at 18, we are forced to decide what we want to be. Throughout my university years, adults have told me, “Oh, don’t worry. You’ve got time to figure it out.” I think I’m quickly running out of time.
Even with the many support systems in my life, I still feel the immense pressure from others to get into a certain career path very early on. I am young, and it’s okay to not know where life is going to take me. I will figure out what I’m passionate about in the future, so why do I have to have a clear vision of what that is now? This is because our society has influenced us into believing that life has to be perfect – and it is not perfect!
Go back to school. Travel the world. Switch jobs. Do everything at your own pace. The pressures of the ‘normal’ do not need to define you. Don’t let the “what do you want to be when you grow up” haunt you. Do whatever you want to do, and life will take you where you are meant to be.