Despite “Zootopia” being released eight years ago, I frequently find the song “Try Everything” stuck in my head. As a 14-year-old, I found the song catchy. However, as a 22-year-old, I admittedly find myself applying the lyrics of a fictional gazelle to my life as a college student navigating my major and establishing a career foundation. My motto? As Gazelle sings, “I wanna try everything. I wanna try even though I could fail.”
I am majoring in public relations and enthralled by every aspect of my major, from the writing, to the planning to the researching. My major has the incredible ability to act as a key that can unlock the door to any field. Whether one is interested in the automotive industry or the fashion industry, almost every company has a public relations role. The fact that I can work in hundreds of intriguing sectors that align with my interests excites me. Simultaneously, weighing my many interests to choose a specialization is rather daunting. Perhaps you feel the same way. However, I find myself questioning if this feeling of needing to have a nailed-down niche is just that: a feeling. Is it a fact that one must know exactly what industry they want to work in after college?
Now, I would not normally advise college students to take the advice of an animated movie that debuted when we were in middle school, but I think that Gazelle’s lyrics have a value that can be incorporated into the lives of serious, hard-working college students. After all, college is the first time that many students are even introduced to different subjects. For instance, in high school, I had no idea that public relations were even a career field. I especially did not know that my concentration in event management (which is tourism-based) was a subject that you could study at school. Doesn’t it make sense that college students, who are accessing a plethora of information for the first time, would want to sample various pathways before embarking on their career journey?
Public relations and similar majors truly make the world your oyster, and I am counting down the days until I can work with an organization that I am passionate about. At the same time, I am still unsure of how to answer the classic question of what I want to do with my degree. I know I want to practice public relations, but where? This question used to scare me, but I now find it exciting. Permitting yourself to explore is powerful.
I have three key ways I that I give myself permission to explore. The first is by taking a wide variety of electives. From the sports sector to the nonprofit sector, I have immersed myself in many different types of communication, and I am amazed at the ways that communication can create community and change. Second, I listen to podcasts and read books on  a multitude of subjects. From nutrition to sports to running, I am constantly keeping my algorithm on its toes. Lastly, I have not been afraid to take on a non-traditional internship. Over the summer I worked as a public relations assistant in economic development, and I became fascinated by community planning. And as I continue to grow, I will continue to explore.
Being surrounded by other highly driven people can be wildly inspiring. However, when others have a clear-cut, stepping-stone guide for the first 20 years of their career, it can be difficult to not feel behind, but I know that I have plenty of time to find my niche. Until then, I will continue researching the tourism industry. And the sports industry. And the fashion industry. I will continue to give myself permission to explore with “Try Everything” being my anthem.