What do you want to be when you grow up?
By the time any self-respecting teenager hits his senior year of high school or his freshman year of college, he wants to plug his ears and pretend the question doesn’t exist.
I have been there. Growing up I changed my mind about what I wanted to do with my life many times. I wanted to be a farmer, veterinarian, nurse, pharmacist and teacher. By the time I entered Ferris State University, I still didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life.
I still don’t have a clear picture. And you know what? That’s OK. Some adults still don’t know what they want to do with their lives. And that is half the fun because they (and you) don’t have to stick with just one thing.
I was an undecided major when I came to FSU. I entered into my major (journalism and technical communication) because it looked like fun and I liked writing. I may never go into journalism or I may not stick with it, and that’s OK.
Ask your fellow classmates if they have ever changed majors or even thought about it. I think you’ll find that a lot of them have. I don’t know many FSU students who have not changed their majors at least once.
So how do you know you’ve made the right choice? That is for you to decide. If you are passionate about your major, that is all that matters. Sure, your family might be pressuring you to enter a career where there are more financial benefits, but if you are not excited about that career then there is no point. You have only one life to live, make it count.
Getting to the job of your dreams is not like one of those wonderful montages movies like to use so often. Oh come on, you wish that would happen every time you study for a test!
It’s a lot of hard work and sometimes the pressure can get to you, no matter what major you are in. There are days when I threaten to drop out of college to live my life as a hobo, but then my friends make me feel better and talk some sense into me, and I pick myself up and carry on.
There is a popular saying that likes to float around the Internet, “No one said it was going to be easy, they just said that it would be worth it.” I couldn’t agree more.
So what do I want to be when I grow up? Who says I have to decide? Or grow up, for that matter?
I think a better question is: “Who do you want to be right now?”