My future isn’t planned out, and that’s alright

By Katie Crabb | gargoyle@flagler.edu

All throughout high school, the constant question was asked, “What are you going to do after you graduate?” For me it was simple. College was expected in my family, and in today’s world that’s no surprise. And for someone bookish like me, it was the obvious next step.

Most of us, myself included, spent our senior year in high school dreaming of college: the freedom of it, the new friends, getting to study a topic we were actually interested in. It’s easy to think the four years will pass by slowly, but the fact is they’re gone in a flash.

As I’ve gotten further into my college career I’ve realized the enormous pressure put on college students to know exactly what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Sure, plenty of people have ideas of what they want, but there are so many who still aren’t sure.

There are so many options, and the next step isn’t so obvious this time. As an English major, I often get the “So, what are you going to do with that? Teach?” And while teaching is certainly an admirable option, it isn’t the only one.
I often find myself jealous of my friends who are education majors. When they talk about teaching, I can see their eyes light up. They’ll love it, that’s for sure.

People see the same light in my eyes when I talk about my love for writing, but what exactly I want to do with it is a question I have multiple answers for.

Should we really have to know each and every precise detail of our future at such a young age? College is a time not only to plan for the future, but also to grow and experience new things. To live in the moment while we can.

For me this meant signing up for a Flagler study abroad class and going to London. Yes it’s expensive, and I’m not in dire need of the credits, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I decided to seize the occasion while it was available.

This is not to say things like resumes, plans for graduate schools or good grades aren’t important. They are. I’m one of those frustrating people who nearly have a heart attack upon seeing anything less than an A on the top of an assignment. But I’ve learned to accept that sometimes I won’t make the top grade. It’s important to remember the other aspects of life.

It’s sensible to think of the future, but we must be careful to keep things balanced. We all have our dreams, but we cannot let them completely cloud the present for fear of missing out on an opportunity. I think James Dean put it best when he said, “Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.”