It’s no secret that uncertainty is one of those concepts that makes a lot of people squirm. Whether you’re a freshman or sophomore suddenly questioning the path you chose to take or a junior or senior panicking over which road to travel next, you’ll most likely have to sit in uncertainty at some point in your college experience.
And, if you’re one of the lucky few who know where they’re going career wise, rest assured that uncertainty can and will still creep into the other aspects of life, like personal and financial issues. There are going to be times when we all just don’t know what we’re doing, and that’s terrifying. It’s also completely OK. I’ve noticed that a lot of seniors seem scared to the core about what happens after graduation.
On some level, I understand that it’s unsettling to not know what the future holds, but I don’t particularly get the incessant need to know. I remember last year, after graduating high school, the anxious feeling I had because everything was changing, but the anxiety wasn’t necessarily bad. To me, there’s some comfort in not knowing what’s going to happen next because, at least then, anything can happen, and you can decide where you will go next.
I know that there really is no end to the anxiety that accompanies big changes. It’s just a part of life. But I’d like to point out that even if you did have a plan, nothing in life is set in stone. You never know what’s going to move you or what decisions you’re truly going to make. If you did, life would be boring. There are thousands of people who thought they were heading down one road before ending up on a better one. I mean, Steve Jobs never planned to drop out of school, and JK Rowling was living as a poorly paid waitress before she started writing the “Harry Potter” books. Sometimes, you just need to sit in uncertainty for a while. Sometimes, that unsettling feeling is the only force that can get you settled.
So to all those, young or old, who are panicking because they don’t have all the answers, relax. Life isn’t a math equation; there is no right way to do it. As long as you keep working hard and listening to your gut, everything will turn out exactly the way it’s supposed to.
