Not all who wander....are lost. This quote can be seen throughout Pinterest memes, house decor, and key-chains. You probably even finished that statement in your head. Even if you are not a Tolkien fan, that statement resonates so well with people that it is commonplace.
The other day a question was posed concerning my generation concerning why the Young Adult Genre, particularly fantasy, is so popular of late (Harry Potter, Twilight, LOTR, etc.) Perhaps it's just my opinion, but I believe my generation loves characters that portray an anxiety and resistance to adulthood because we are the generation that was told we could be whatever we wanted to be.
That concept seems to liberating, "Whatever you want to be." But it is really?
Personally, I firmly hold that I am not alone in thinking this statement is actually more daunting than encouraging. For someone who knows their exact niche, and what they are going to do with it, life simply becomes a path to accomplishing that goal. However, for those of us still figuring it out, including myself after throwing away a ten-year plan, finding our adventure feels a lot like being Bilbo or Frodo without a Gandalf.
Maybe it is because of my Type A personality, or simply my competitive nature (probably both) but for some time I constantly felt the proverbial clock ticking. "Become something. Pick a career." This clock would tick away loudly in my mind, and now that I'm getting closer to being done with college I hear it more than ever.
However, I've always thought I'd be the person who had the same career for fifty years before retiring. But maybe wandering a bit first isn't the worst notion. I've heard many people my age say they wish they had taken more time to explore before settling into a career.
For me, and I believe for anyone who feels confused and perplexed by their 20s, the best way to remain happy in the midst of what feels like utter chaos is this: trust God and remember that life is not a competition. Just in college alone I've already had seven jobs: volleyball coach, volleyball referee, A/C unit scrapper, Sales Associate, Houseparent for the mentally challenged, babysitter, and now I'm an ER Tech. Each job has taught me a new set of skills and given me an appreciation for the job itself. I may not have grown as much as a person in confidence and experience if I had one single job geared towards a specific career. It seems much like Bilbo and Frodo, they're adventures, or misadventures expanded their minds and experiences exponentially. While I've come to believe that if I work hard enough, I could perhaps be almost anything I want to be, I understand why my generation is overwhelmed by such a notion.
Eventually, I'll zero in on a career, but my experience in my 20s so far has made me question if a career has to be the same field for 50 years to be considered successful. Maybe some people spend 50 years in a field because it's all they want while others may simply be scared of change. When I retire, if I've worked in three or five different career fields I think I would have some fascinating stories to tell. Either way, I've learned to try to stay in the moment as much I possibly can, and that's an accomplishment within itself.
