By the end of college, they say you’re supposed to have some sort of direction you’re going in life. Well, newsflash, I don’t.
I’ve heard the same thing repeated my entire life. In elementary school we could be whatever we wanted. In middle school we could still be whatever we wanted. In high school we didn’t have to pick a career yet, we just had to get into a good school. Even in college after changing my major numerous times I was always told it was all right, I still had time.
But now time’s up and graduation is just days away. You’re supposed to at least know what type of job you want by now, and yet, I have no clue.
Maybe it’s because I graduated in three years. Maybe it’s because on all of those ridiculous career tests they made me take in high school my pie charts always came back equally cut among all career paths. I really have no idea, but what I do know is that it’s the end of my undergraduate career and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.
I’d like to think I’ve taken advantage of my time here at Ferris. I’ve had the privilege of working for the Torch and rising in the ranks to an editor position. I’ve also had the honor of living, meeting, volunteering, and working with some of the best people I know. But what have I learned?
One thing I’ve learned is that nothing is set in stone. Life is dynamic and it really is what you make it. Relationships change, and so do careers and classes and the menu at the Rock. Whether you like change or not, which I generally don’t, you have to roll with it and make the best of each opportunity that presents itself.
I’ve faced hardship at Ferris, but through that I’ve always learned how to be a stronger person. What I think is more important though is that I’ve learned to let others in through those hard times. Whether it be those few professors, that one hall director, those certain advisors, or those dang mentees of mine, I have learned that there really are people that will care about me no matter where I go and what decisions I make.
Those people taught me to love myself and be open about who I am, and with that has come so much good. I love who I’ve grown to be, and I owe that positive outlook to those people, you all know who you are, at Ferris who looked at me and saw something great. Those people that accepted the good with the bad, the crazy with the sophisticated, and the tears with the smiles.
So through all of that, where exactly am I going? The truth is, I just don’t know. What I do know is this: no matter where I go in life I will carry this place in my heart. Even though I haven’t always been the biggest fan of Ferris, I am the biggest fan of how enriched I have become here as a person. The experiences I’ve had here have shaped me, strengthened me, and got me to this next unknown phase.
So as I squeeze the final drops out of what the sponge that is Ferris has to offer me over these last few days, I am happy. Happy and terrified. Happy to know that I took full advantage of each opportunity I had here, and terrified of not knowing where my next sponge is located. n