photo credit: Mia Harrington
As college results start to come out for seniors, the talk of the future rises in discussion amongst students. Questions of “Where are you going to school?”, “What will you major in?”, and “What do you want to do after school?” float around the hallways. It’s absurd to be expected to know our purpose in life by 18 years old because our frontal lobes aren’t even fully developed until 25 years old. Kids shouldn’t be pressured into deciding what to do with the rest of their lives this early on.
Growing up, I constantly heard talk of people’s wildest dreams of what they wanted to be when they grew up: astronauts, doctors and singers were amongst some of the most popular. Personally, I’ve always struggled with that question and responded with a simple “I don’t know yet.”
Now, I’m 18 years old and months away from graduating high school, and I still have the same response to that question of what I want to be when I grow up. Trying to figure out the path of the rest of my life sounds like an impossible task to do right now. High schoolers still have so much of their lives left to figure out what they want to do yet are pressured to figure it out before college.
One of the biggest questions seniors are forced to face when applying to college is what major they would like to study. Sure, there is always the choice to go in undecided, but many feel as though to get in at certain schools it’s best to pick now or it could make writing supplemental essays easier.
For example, for some of the schools I applied to, I had to write an essay about why I wanted to go into my major. I don’t even feel strongly about my major and could see myself switching later on, so I really had to think deeply about what could’ve inspired me to pick my major that wasn’t just “It will make money” or “My parents do something similar to this.”
It’s such a difficult decision to make because seniors must think about the rest of their lives and what job they want to have for the next 40 years or so. I struggle with this myself because when I think about different jobs, I can’t see myself doing a lot of them or enjoying them.
I often think back to that saying, “if you enjoy your job, you won’t work a day in your life,” but I fear most jobs that would pay a comfortable wage don’t fit that criterion of being enjoyable. The idea of doing something I don’t enjoy every day for the rest of my life seems frightening.
Additionally, even when picking majors and talking to other students who are writing applications, it can be easy to feel as though one is falling behind. There are so many examples of other students talking about their research experience, internships or inventions at such a young age, and it can feel difficult to compare to them.
For instance, in my English class, we read examples of college application essays, and many included experiences with college professors conducting research or conducting scientific research in labs with scientists or hospitals. This led me to spiral and feel as though I’m behind and haven’t been doing enough with my life.
I’ve just been trying to get good grades in my classes, meanwhile other students are working with professionals and finding cures to diseases. Whilst they have had their whole future figured out and already began having experience in their fields of choice, I’m still at the beginning of wondering what to do.
Growing up is scary. Figuring out the next steps of life is also scary. No one should feel behind in life because they aren’t sure yet. There’s so much time still, and people change their minds all the time. College students commonly switch majors, and even after college people switch careers too. Students shouldn’t let the pressures of deciding life consume them because it’s O.K. to still not know yet.
