Kevin Torres-Jurado, Copy Editor
As a child growing up, one of the only things I really wanted to do was just that–grow up. I couldn’t wait at the beginning of every school year to get asked by the teacher what it was I wanted to do when I was an adult. One year it was a fireman because I thought being a policeman was overrated. Another year I wanted to be the mayor of New York City because Mayor Bloomberg was always in the news. There were some years when I had three different responses. In the beginning of the year I wanted to be a samurai, but then I thought being a marine biologist would be more rewarding, but then again, being the President of the United States of America sounded way cooler.
I was always thinking about what I was going to look like as an adult, what I was going to do, and who was I going to be. I stressed about the future so much as a child that my mother would tell me that I was going to miss out on my childhood.
The years ran by me and I became older. This September, I turned 20. The question still stands. What do I want do with my life? I still do not have a definite answer. I am passionate about so many things that dedicating my life to a single field of work sounds like an impossible task. Instead of trying to figure out what it is I wanted to do with my life, I let various waves of uncertainty as well as anxiety attack my mind, one wave after the other.
I am not the most talented person. I’m definitely not the most attractive or intelligent human being to walk this Earth. In fact, I’m not the definition of exemplary for anything really. What can I do for the rest of my life that won’t cause me to die of boredom? What can I do for the rest of my life that will allow me to live the comfortable life I want to have? What can I do that’ll get me out of my parent’s house?
As these questions ran rampant in my head, I realized something. The key phrase found in my questions was “rest of my life.” I thought to myself, “Why do I have to do one thing for the rest of my life?” Speaking realistically, I probably have a good 46 years before the Creator has no use for me anymore. And within these 46 years, I have the option to switch. To switch careers, to switch lifestyles, haircuts, fashion, partners, and even countries. This is my life; I have the option, the opportunity to see where it goes.
This is what the people of our generation need to learn. It is okay to be unsure. It is okay to switch majors. It is okay to transfer schools, move out of town for college, and even study abroad. If you don’t experience all that this life has to offer, if you stay stuck with one ideology, you’ll never fully value all the different pathways our world has. It is okay to switch careers when you’re 30. This is probably how you avoid having an existential crisis. Doing what you want, when you want to, for as long as you truly love it, for as long as it is calling you.
For all of the new college students and those who are undecided with their major, experience the world through the myriad of classes this college offers you. For all of the soon-to-be graduates walking the aisle at the end of this semester or year, live your life. Do what you love and hope that it loves you back. And always know this – it’s okay to not know.
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