It’s Okay Not to Know

Picture this: You’re at a cookout, and a family member walks up to you. You start talking, normal every day conversation. They start asking about your major, how school is going, you know the drill. Then, they ask you the dreaded question. “So, what do you want to do after you graduate?” Your mind scrambles and starts searching for the answer. You don’t really know what you want to do yet, but you know you’ve got to come up with something, and you’ve got to come up with it fast so you blurt out “I don’t know yet,” and move on with the conversation.

We’ve all had this conversation…

But I am here to tell you that not having your future all worked out is okay and NOTHING to be ashamed of! I mean when you think about it, we’ve been asked this question since we were in kindergarten, and I’m sure (for most of us), when we were asked “what do you want to be when you grow up” back then, it’s not the same answer we give now.

Brief intermission for a story:

Once, my family went to a Kindergarten Graduation for my brother. All the kids went up and held up a picture describing what they wanted to be when they grew up. My brother said that he wanted to be a lifeguard when he grows up and it was the cutest thing ever. Point being, he is now 13 and barely even remembers this. He now says he wants to work at NASA, or maybe Disney, or maybe have his own company. High goals. Love you Ty 🙂

But anyways, as I was saying, it’s hard to know what you want to be when you grow up! As soon as you hit high school, it seems like the question really starts to become real, and let’s be honest, it is near impossible to know exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life when you are 16!

When you get to college, now it feels like the pressure is really on. You’ve got to pick a major, figure out what kind of job you want to have and really start thinking about what you are passionate about.

Over my last 4 years in high school, and especially now after 2 years of college, I’ve learned that it’s not about knowing exactly what you want to do, it’s more about being active in searching for it.

Welcome to Today’s Blog Post: It’s Okay Not to Know

If you have your whole life planned out and know what you want to do, that is AMAZING and more power to ya! Some people know from a young age exactly what they want to do, they stick with it and they love it. If this is you, you are on a great track.

But, there are a lot of people, including myself, who don’t know yet exactly what to do. And this is okay!!! And you are on a great track too.

I want to talk a little bit more about what I mean when I say that it’s not about knowing exactly what you want to do, it’s more about being active in searching for it.

From personal experience, I know that simply picking a major is hard. I switched my major once before I even started school! I thought that I wanted to go into Marketing, but then I went to a presentation for the Communications department before classes started, just to see what it was like, and I ended up switching because it seemed like it was more fitting for me. Now that I am in Communications, I love it and there is nothing else I would rather do. But, during my first year of school, I did have second thoughts. I had a phase where I thought about majoring in Secondary Education, but after taking a few classes, I didn’t think it was for me. A little while later, I took some writing courses and absolutely loved them, which lead to a double major in Writing. The point I am trying to get at here is that it is okay to try different things and figure out what you like! By trying different things, you are being active in figuring out what you want to do. Now don’t get me wrong, college is EXPENSIVE and at some point, you have to pick what you think is best for you or you’ll be in school for longer than you intended. But, if you don’t know what you want to do, don’t be afraid to do some exploring!

Try new things outside of school! One example of this from my life is what you’re reading right now. I started my blog almost a year ago because I loved writing and wanted to explore that in a new way, rather than just writing in my journal for myself. If you have a passion for something, don’t be afraid to explore it. Another great way to do this is through internships. Internships are something that I am still trying to get into! Doing different kinds of internships are a great way to focus in on what exactly you want to do with your major. Even if you have a specific major like nursing or teaching, getting your foot in the door with hands on experiences can help you decide who you want to work with and what exactly you want to do. If you have a really broad major like Communications or Business, internships are so important because the one’s available to you are completely different, so you can see what you like and don’t like as much.

It’s not just about the job itself! When someone asks you what you want to do after school, you can talk about things that are important to you. Such as “I really want to travel and see more of the world” or I really want to work with kids.” Think about what you want your job to provide, rather than exactly what you want to do.

Don‘t be afraid to put yourself out there. I am the first to say that I am NOT the most outgoing social person. But, it is such an important skill to be able to network and advocate for yourself. Making connections with people in your field is a great step in figuring out what you want to do. Find mentors who can give you advise and talk to others in your field!

So, when people ask you what you want to do in the future, don’t let it intimidate you and don’t feel like you’re behind for not knowing. More people don’t know then you would think.

When people ask me “What do you want to do after school?”

I say…

“I really want to do something that allows me to write and allows me to travel. I am looking into internships right now that allow me to do those things. I’m hoping that after having a couple different internships, I’ll be able to really know what I want to do.”

It’s okay not to know! It’s okay to still be figuring it out. As long as you are being active in figuring out what you like to do and taking advantage of every opportunity you get.

If you don’t know your exact career path, next time you are asked “what do you want to do in the future,” use this time to talk about what’s important to you in a job, and what you want it to fulfill in your life.

Thank you so so much for reading today’s blog! Your support means everything to me and more. I have some really fun blogs coming up soon that I cannot wait to share with you! Stay safe and thank you.

Signed,

Ashlyn

p.s. I think I’m going to start doing a little ‘p.s.’ message at the end of each post for people who make it all the way through the blog because I think it’s fun! So today’s little message, you are AMAZING for making it through the whole blog and I appreciate you 🙂