By Nick Forbes Asst. sports editor
As I find myself in the middle of my sophomore year here at Susquehanna, I think back to when I first made my way to this campus as a first-year. In fact, I still remember my mentality at that time: go to school, get internships, graduate with a job in my prospective job field.
Now here I am, having changed my major twice and still not 100 percent sure what I want to spend the rest of my life doing. All that confidence I had at the beginning of last year is now replaced by confusion, and inevitably stress.
The point is, things change. You change. And if there is ever a time to change and figure yourself out, college would be that time. But you’ve heard that before, right? And that’s all well and good if you’re a first-year or even a sophomore, but as a junior or senior who may be in the same boat no amount of sugar-coating can ease that anxiety.
We are seemingly told that there is a set amount of time we have to figure out what we want to do with our lives. Four years of college and by age 22 enter the work force. The less you seem to know what you want to do, the more everyone around you does.
But the reality of the situation is your twenties are really the time to figure yourself out. College might provide you with an academic education, but not everything can be taught in a school. I have often found that the most you learn about yourself comes from interacting with others. More specifically, others from different cultures.
The opportunity to travel freely is the most prevalent in your twenties. When you’re young, you don’t have the finances or the responsibility to travel on your own. When you get older, you most likely have a family that makes it more difficult to travel. That is why in my opinion, exploring the world during this time is extremely important.
Let’s put this in perspective. There are roughly 7.2 billion people in this world, and no two of those people’s lifestyles are exactly the same. If you are anything like me, you have lived in maybe two or three different cities in your life, not including college. You have only experienced the world that has been directly in front of you, and it’s easy to think that that is all there is to life.
Traveling opens minds to opportunities previously unimagined. Would it really be so bad to forgo a typical career path, work at a restaurant or farm or some other entry level job for a few years, if only for the ability to experience different cities and people? In my opinion, why rush into the career field? You have your whole life for that.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that a college education is worthless. College is extremely important. The degree that you will receive will eventually help you get that career you desire after you truly find what you want to do. All I am saying is that there is no real rush that is put on us to decide our careers… it simply feels that way.
Many of the people I look up to have had the same experience. My high school journalism teacher, who helped instill a love of words in me, spent his first four years out of high school working as a farm hand and traveling across Australia. Then, he came back to the United States and began his career.
All I’m saying is don’t drive yourself crazy over the thought of the future. There is too much to be experienced for us to be expected to settle down in the work force immediately. Who knows, the life that you want to live could be so far beyond your imagination and thousands of miles away, you just haven’t heard of it yet.
The editorials of The Quill reflect the views of individual members of the editorial board. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the entire editorial board or of the university. The content of the Forum page is the responsibility of the editor in chief and the Forum editor.
