An Open Letter To The Undecided College Students Right Now

I am the type of person to go with the flow. My parents advised me to enter a state college and pursue a degree they wanted for me and I accepted it. Fortunately, I passed the entrance examination and did what they told me. I thought everything would be okay.

It was the summer of my sophomore year when I realized I was unsure of what I wanted out of my life. I stumbled on Samantha Pointon’s work that defined college as “a time to figure out what you want to do in life and to figure out what you don’t want to do in life.” Unfortunately, figuring out what you want out of life isn’t an easy decision.

It took me a while to find out what I truly wanted out of college. From a once undecided college student, here are some tips that helped me decide.

 1.   Step outside your comfort zone.

One of my favorite Roy T. Bennett quotes is “It’s only after you’ve stepped out of your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform.” Stepping outside of your comfort zone will not only help you grow and change, but also decide. You can try joining clubs and organizations and doing volunteer work related to the major you want.

2.  Determine your favorite subjects.

Which subjects do you enjoy and excel in? Finding your favorite subjects greatly helps in deciding what field of study to align your career path in. If you find yourself appreciating literary works and art history, you can go for a humanities degree. There are a lot of options to choose from once you’ve identified what you do and enjoy best. 

 3.   Identify your goal.  

After determining your field of study, the next thing is to identify your goal. Is it to enjoy a lot or earn a lot? Or could it be the same? Whatever it is, identifying your goal will give you direction, help you decide what is important to you, measure your progress toward success, and motivate you.

 4.   Take your time.

Just like what Cindy Margolis said, “There’s no such thing as an overnight success.” This is true even when deciding what career path to take. You don’t have to rush things. In my case, it took me a year to choose the career path I want. But it isn’t the same for everyone. Some will take more than that. At the end of the day, what matters is your decision and if that decision makes you happy and feel fulfilled.

5.   Enjoy and live the way you want.

Finding a career path that will make you happy is no easy feat. Remember to pause at times and avoid worrying about the future. Enjoy and live your college days the way you want.

It is okay to be undecided. Trust yourself and any decisions moving forward. Just as they say, “Eventually all the pieces fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moment, and know that everything happens for a reason.” 

Feature Image by javier trueba on Unsplash