Now, I know this is one of the busiest times of the year with finals looming just around the corner, so I’ll be sure to make this quick. But, if your Thanksgiving was anything like mine, then you had some family member(s) ask you what your Five-Year-Plan is. *collective shivers from you and me both, pal* Personally, I think it’s somewhat of a dangerous thing to have your future life all planned out, and here’s why:
Once upon a time, one of my roommates freshman year told me she was envious of how passionate I was – about, well, erm, everything. T’was a blessing and a curse, though, because I was always changing what I wanted to major in even though deep down I knew I wanted one particular major more than anything else (~~the English major lyfe chose me~~ *casually throws deuces*). I was involved in so many activities, and I loved all of them, that I barely had ample time to do normal college people things, like take half-hour long showers, or watch a movie on the weekends. Eventually, though, I figured things out and am currently following my own path in my fourth and final year of my college education. I didn’t have some predetermined, preconceived notion about who I’d become – it just all sort of fell into place because I didn’t force anything to happen. Oh, where I’ll wind up next year, you ask? Well, now, that’s TBD…!
The truth is, is that when we create a romanticized idealistic notion of what we think we want out of life, and who we think we want to become, there’s no way to know for sure that that will actually make us truly happy in the long run. Although there are no guarantees, one thing is certain – it is important to keep our hearts open for change. We are allowed to change our passions. We are allowed to change our goals. It’s okay to want to do one thing one month, and feel yourself more inclined to follow down a different path the following month. (Hint: It’s also okay not to know at all what you want to do, in case nobody’s told you that yet.) But, if we lock ourselves into the pressure of having a sensationalized dream, we could be putting blinders over our eyes from a potentially different path that could make us even more filled with joy, if we had only been open to it.
Embrace life as it comes. That’s the secret to figuring it all out.