It is no secret that coming to college, wherever it may be, is an extreme change and very overwhelming. With my first semester almost being over, I think that it is pretty safe to say that, even though I like to think I do, I did not know everything. The list could go on and on with things that I had wish I knew before I went to college. But there is one thing in particular that I wish I had gotten through this hard head of mine

IT’S OKAY TO NOT HAVE YOUR LIFE FIGURED OUT RIGHT NOW.

I think at times, especially just being fresh out of high school, we have this impression that we have to pick something right now, and whatever we pick is what we’re stuck with forever. But let me tell you first hand, that is not the case.

Like any body else, I have debated back and forth between what I have wanted to do my whole life. Finally, my senior year of high school, I decided on getting a degree in Neuroscience. With that being said, after college, I planned to go to Medical School. I mean, what 18 year old doesn’t want to be a doctor? With that being said, when the time to start school rolled around, I was more than excited to start my Intro to Neuroscience course. Learning all about the brain seemed so much fun! Well, at least it did, until about a month or two into the semester.

I can honestly say that I have learned a lot in this class. But here are the two biggest things: I don’t find neurons or learning about everything they do exciting in any way shape or form. I don’t want to be a doctor. At all. To be completely honest, I think I just really liked Grey’s Anatomy. Although being a top notch brain surgeon just like Derek Sheppard sounds like a wonderful idea, it’s just not for me. I came to the realization that my life is not a T.V show, this is not ABC, and I really don’t want to be a doctor. And it took me a minute to realize that is absolutely okay.

If you’re anything like me, you always like to know what is going to happen next. You like to have a plan, and the unknown is kind of scary. You’re pushed so hard in high school to get good test scores and get a good GPA so that you can get into the University that you have always wanted to be apart of. And once you’re accepted, you feel like you need to decide right this second what you’re going to be doing for the rest of your life. But I think most of us forget that we’re still only 18. Just a couple months ago we had to ask when we needed to go to the bathroom.

It’s okay to not know. And it is more than okay to change your mind. Find what you like. Find what you don’t like. Find out if you really want to be a doctor, or if you just really like Grey’s Anatomy. Or if you really want to pursue a degree in Criminal Justice, or if you just really like Criminal Minds. All in all, what I’m trying to say is, even though it feels like it, no one is asking you to have your whole life planned out right now. Even though time flies, you still have time to think about it. With that being said, choose something where your heart is, but at the same time is realistic. Don’t be the kid that gets a degree in Art History just because you thought a painting was pretty at a museum you went to in third grade and then graduate and have no clue what to do with your degree… and then spend the rest of your life contemplating where you went wrong. Find balance between what you love and what is realistic, and realize that you don’t have to have everything figured out today. But, as my uncle would say, “I mean, you do you”.