College and the Fear of "Adulting"

Worrying About “Adulting”

A few weeks ago I sat down and had this big meltdown of “What am I doing? What do I want? Where will I go from here?” A thought process that every 20 something year old goes through at one point or another, and probably more than once. It’s the phasing into “adult” that sparks it. 

When you first go into college you may or may not know what you want to study, and that’s totally fine because you have time. People might stress you out by asking how you couldn’t know, but ignore them because you’re 18/19 and don’t need to know what you want to do forever at that point in time. Get your prerequisites out of the way and move on from there. For me, I knew what I wanted to study since my senior year in high school so starting college was really refreshing for me. 

Come the second year of college you have a better idea of what you want to do with your studies, but chances are you’re still in the dark to some extent. You’re all “YAY I really love what I’m studying, but what exactly do I want to do when I’m done studying?” 

That’s where I was pre meltdown. Except the only difference was that I had to accept I am going to be in my senior year come the fall, and that I already had a grad school acceptance letter in my hand. Those facts are remarkably terrifying as much as they are exciting. 

Something everyone asks themselves while in college is “Am I doing the right thing? Is this really what I want? What happens if I mess it up?” The major highlight though, is that everyone around you is asking the same thing. You might feel isolated in your thoughts and worries, but really so many of your peers are experiencing the same things you are, and are also petrified.  I talked with friends and peers that were experiencing the same emotions and thoughts that I was, and I felt a lot better because we were all in the same canoe without a paddle. 

The future is the scariest thing there is, but it is also the most exciting. You are the creator of your own destiny, and that’s awesome! You’ll stumble and make mistakes, but you’ll end up exactly where you’re supposed to be regardless of the speed bumps you hit along the way. Everyone is experiencing the same thing you are to some extent, so TALK TO THEM. Talk to everyone you can and learn about their experiences so far in their journey. It’s so rewarding, and will alleviate so much stress. You’ll make some great friends and connections along the way :)