“Where are you going to college?”, “What are you majoring in?”, “Will you be able to make a career out of that?” These are the questions that I was so ready to be done hearing when I left for college. You think that in making it to school you have everything figured out. You made it past the brutal college application process and have somewhat of an idea of what you want to study. However, since getting here, I am very aware of how wrong I was.
I am beyond proud to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It was worth all of the stress last year to be here now. However, the hard decisions do not end after decision day. There is a mentality that at eighteen years old one should have the layout of how their life will end up planned out in their mind. I have absolutely no idea where I will be in four years. Coming in, I was positive that I knew what I wanted to major in. I thought that people were being dramatic when they said you will change your major twenty times. However, two months in and I am already experiencing this.
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I thought that the stressful decisions would end once I knew where I was going to college and the rest would just work out. Yet, I am already trying to figure out post-Madison. Do I get a job back home? Do I follow my dreams and move to New York? Do I go to grad school? Will I be able to go to grad school right after undergrad? These are the things that I shouldn't have to worry about. These are the things that 18-year-olds shouldn't need the answers to yet. I am not old enough to do so many things, so why should I have an outline of my life ready to put into action?
The current society that we live in focuses too much on the future. High school is spent trying to get into college. College is spent trying to get a job. Each job is a ticket to the next best thing. When do we stop worrying about the future? When do we stop striving for the currently unattainable and just appreciate what we have in the current moment? When do we learn to shut off our minds, calm down, take a deep breath, and trust that when the time comes we will know what to do?
I am by no means saying to stop planning. Do not stop striving to reach your goals. Do not let four years fly by with no ambitions of what you are trying to accomplish. However, do not forget to live in the moment. Do not forget to be grateful for what you have right now. Do not forget to be young—to live a life that in four years you won’t have the same freedom and lack of responsibilities to live. Most of all, do not think that everyone has everything figured out. We are all in the same boat; we are all unsure of what lies ahead for each of us. So work hard, but do not forget to have a good time. Make sure you strive for your dreams, but stay open-minded to changing your dreams—as many times as you have to. Lastly, make sure to be excited for the future, but do not forget to live in the present.
