As a third year college student, I’ve been asked many times the question that many young people dread hearing: “So what are you doing after college?” with variations such as “What are you going to use your degree for?” or “What’s your life plan?”. Although people ask these questions with the best intentions (usually), it can be very stressful to be reminded that I don’t have a set plan yet. Like many college students, I haven’t quite planned out which career I want with my degree. If you’re like myself and don’t quite have your life figured out yet, these are the reasons why we don’t have to have everything planned out and how it could actually be more beneficial to keep an open mind.
- We are Young
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I think we forget sometimes that 19, 20, 21 years old is actually pretty young to have everything figured out already. At this point in our lives, there are so many opportunities to figure out what we truly love. That being said, exploring different career paths and passions is a good thing because we have the ability to know our options and choose a path later on down the road. Especially for majors, choose one of interest and passion for you and figure out jobs that go with that major after college. If we choose career paths solely based on stability and not incorporate enthusiasm into our plans, we cannot enjoy the career path we end up going for later on.
- We are Constantly Changing
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Although we may have some ideas about our lives now, we are all constantly changing our minds. Just because we have ideas for our futures now, doesn’t mean that those same ideas will be what our future selves want. Having goals for ourselves moves us to do amazing things; however, we must allow our goals to change as we do. Having a set life plan can leave little room for evolution, which is important for all of our developing characters. Our goals and career paths should always be moving factors for us, but not having a particular path or goal is completely okay and can even help develop our ever-changing characters.
- Whatever you Choose, Everything will be Okay
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There seems to be a mentality that if we don’t choose a certain path at the “right” time, our whole lives will be completely disastrous. That if we don’t get a great job right out of college or get married by the time we’re 30, we have failed as human beings. This is a reflection of the society we live in and the expectations infringed upon us by others. Although we all might hit bumps in the road, it doesn’t define how our whole lives are going to turn out. The truth is, there is no set timeline for most of us. Each and every person has a different path to lead; there is no one “right” way for someone to live their life. We must understand that whatever we end up choosing at whatever point in our lives, we will be okay.
So, the next time someone asks us those dreaded questions, we can ensure ourselves that despite our unsure plans, we will be alright. We will find our niche eventually, even if our timing is different than someone else’s. What will I be when I graduate? I have a few ideas. All I know is that whatever I end up choosing, I am okay with not quite knowing my plan yet.
PS: If you want to listen to the songs that inspired me to write this piece, listen to “Maybe IDK” by Jon Bellion and “Taking My Time” by Elements of Music, Asher Roth, and Camila Recchio. They’re pretty great bops.