
Image found here.
Hello, your future calling…
What’s that? A month left?
Soon I can call myself a graduate. Alumnus. Professional. Adult. July 2nd marks the last day of my undergraduate career and the first day of… well, I’ll get to that eventually. Maybe it’s a huge coincidence, but I’ve been feeling a tad existential in recent weeks. They say graduation does that to you. Something about a welcoming to the real world. I don’t think the future has to be scary though, right? I came to university to learn about psychology, and I have. But the entire experience has been so much more.
Do you / did you know what you wanted your future career to be before starting university?
Seems a simple question. I definitely had pretty fixed ideas about the future when I started out. Yet now, I am grappling between what I’ve spent four years working towards and all the other options out there. Within the last year I’ve travelled far afield, met different kinds of people, seen new things and stumbled less-than-gracefully out of my comfort zone. For the most part these have been university related experiences, both building up my professional CV and nurturing a little nomad me.
My biggest lesson learned is there really is no rush. Stick with your goals, if they still are your goals. But don’t let them get in the way of equally amazing opportunities. It’s drilled into us that it’s best to avoid that graduation fog by acing your degree and getting a long-term job. At 22 years old, this might not be the right advice. There’s a huge world out there with things to do you didn’t even know were things. Let your itchy feet take you anywhere. This truly is the prime time, peak fitness, best (and maybe even ultimate) point in your life to go against the flow.
It’s good to reflect. Better to project.