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Open Letter to Adults Who Ask Me What I’m Doing With My Life

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter.

Dear kind adult trying to show interest in me,

        You just stressed me out. I have no idea what I am doing with my life right now and quite frankly am I even going to know anytime soon? Half of the adults who casually talk about what they’re doing now, still don’t know if that’s the right thing for them. So, how am I supposed to know? I am just a freshman in college trying to go with the flow, get decent grades, and survive away from my parents and cats. 

The past two years have been a series of huge changes for me from picking a college, to graduating, to moving out of my childhood home. Over this period of time, I was asked so many loaded questions like “What is your major going to be”, “How will you use your education in the real world”, “What is your dream job”, and the most overwhelming, “What career will you pursue to ensure you can support yourself?” These are all huge questions to ask as I sit, most likely trying to eat my dinner during a family holiday get together. You adults actually ask these kinds of questions when they are least expected and not thought out whatsoever. What I wish I could answer with is please don’t ask me about my future because I will start to freak out over the fact that I will soon need to find an apartment, a good paying job, fully financially support myself, and become an actual adult. I would much rather sit in peace while I eat but I will be polite and just answer with a, “We’ll see. I’m still working on it!”

Sincerely, 

90% of College Students

 

Marlena is a fourth-year in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State where she is majoring in Public Relations and minoring in Psychology and Digital Media Trends & Analytics. She is so grateful to be at Penn State and loves learning more about communications, her peers, and herself every day. She hopes to use this knowledge and her own positive outlook to help others in any way she can.
Bailey McBride is a Senior at Penn State University pursuing a Broadcast Journalism degree with minors in Political Science and Digital Media Trends & Analytics. She is a sister of Delta Gamma. She enjoys making hyper-organizational lists and looking at future pups to adopt. Her dream job is to be Press Secretary of the White House.