Some say that your college years are the best years of your life. While I agree with this statement, there are two sides to it for me. Yes, these years are great because they offer you time to experience many wonderful things, but you are also deciding what you want to do with the rest of your life. You're taking classes in areas of your area of concentration, you are focusing most of your time on classes and other activities that interest you, and you are trying like crazy not to lose your mind. Have you ever felt that it's wrong for you to now have everything figured out? Do you feel pressured to make decisions, but you want to take time and think about the outcome depending on the decision that you choose? Are you scared of what's to come? If you are, you are not alone.
When I started college, I thought I had everything figured out. I picked out my major and minor, decided where I wanted to live, and already selected certain activities that I wanted to be involved with when I arrived on campus. I thought I had it in the bag, but I was wrong. After arriving to campus, I realized I didn't make the right decisions. I realized that I wasn't happy in my selected major, and because I arrived on campus with such a narrow mindset, I felt that I limited myself in my activities. In addition, I felt like I didn't even really know myself: who I was, what I wanted to do in life, and many other ideas of that nature. Realizing all of this wasn't fun at all. As a matter of fact, it was terrifying and scary. I mean, unless your definition of fun is realizing that the only correct decision you made was your college choice, then yes. But for me, it wasn't fun in the slightest.
Even though it felt as though my small little world was ending, it wasn't. Being scared wasn't, and isn't, a bad thing. Yes, I didn't have it all figured out. Yes, I changed my major--shocker. Yes, I had many difficult times. None of those are bad. Being scared or afraid of what's to come or a decision that you have to make isn't wrong. You might not have your entire life mapped out yet, and that's alright. I take decisions seriously and I attempt to consider both sides of the outcome, but sometimes, I don't know what is going to happen. That's where trust comes into the picture. You have to trust yourself and what's best for you and others around you. So yes, you might not know what's coming in your future, but take it one step at a time. Life can, and will, be scary. Step back, think, breathe, and enjoy.
