"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"So, what do you want to do with your life?"
"Have you thought about where you'd like to work?"
"When would you want to start a family?"
And my all-time favorite, "What do you plan on doing with your degree?"
I don't know and it drives me crazy.
Even though I'm not sure what I'll be doing three hours from now, I'm one of those people who always had a pretty straightforward plan all throughout high school and even in junior high. I scoffed at graduating seniors who were too confused to choose a major and I wondered why my older brother would dare switch majors after his first semester of college. How would you not know what your own interests are? How could a person not have a life plan?
It started with wanting to be a veterinarian. I've always loved and had a passion for animals so I thought that it would be perfect. Well, that was until I discovered how little interest I had in biology, so that was out (not to mention I cried uncontrollably when we had to dissect a pregnant cat in class). It's OK, it's fine. I figured out that life in that field was not right for me and I got a new plan. I was in high school, I had time to decide.
Around the time that I had decided that I wanted to have a hand in advertising and designing, I was still sure that my future was carved out and a guaranteed success. Married by 22, kids around 24 and money coming in from having a career that I loved. I knew what I was going to do and it was going to work out without a hitch.
Fast-forward to today. I'm in a limbo of being a junior and senior in college, I'm looking into grad school and I'm in the process of adding on another major. I have a boyfriend, but I'm not at all planning on being married or engaged by my 22nd birthday in August. That neat, clean-cut life plan I had laid out for myself before graduation? Hilarious.
So yes, changing my plans and shifting my goals is, indeed, driving me a bit insane. I have a general idea of what I'd like to have in life, but I'm at the point where I realize that even that may be revised in the next few decades. People change and so will you. Realize that not knowing exactly where you will be in ten years can be a wonderful thing because a wiser, more experienced you will be calling the shots.
Steer your own life, but don't be so stubborn as to avoid everything that takes you off your original path. Yes, I'm a little anxious that I don't know what I want to be when I grow up but I'm learning that it is OK. No matter your age, job, or situation, remember that only you can take charge of your own life. When I studied abroad, a professor told our class that if we didn't like something, change it. If we didn't like where we lived, move. If we hated the career we chose, quit.
What do I want to be when I grow up? I want to be happy. Right now I'm just figuring out my new path in order to make that happen.
