High school, college, the rest of your life. I've been lucky to skate through the last three years without giving my future much thought. My luck ran out. As soon as the clock struck 2012 the questions started pouring in. It seems like I can't check my email anymore without the 'what are your plans for next year?' question popping up.
There's nothing inherently wrong with that question, I bet some of my fellow seniors even have some really interesting responses. But we haven't all figured it out yet. In fact, if an expensive college education has taught me anything it's this: life is a continual process of self-discovery.
You can't divide your life easily into segments prematurely; you'll probably end up pretty unhappy chasing a plan to the death you created when you were 18. Seasons change, we change, and it can't be stopped. It's a simple fact of life.
My general philosophy in life has been that I don't necessarily need to know what's coming. The thought of having even a general outline of my life planned out when I'm 22 is alarming. My future is more of a bucket list. Things I want to do, places I need to go, goals I'd like to achieve. DePauw and my experiences here have helped me immensely.
Because of DePauw's Winter Term, I have had a chance to travel. I encourage you to do the same (but apply for the weird, far away, once in a lifetime trips - a child could explore Europe with a group). Because of DePauw, I have been lucky enough to participate in NCAA athletics and chase my dreams on fields and tracks all over the United States. Because of DePauw and the great professors I've been lucky enough to have, I know what subjects I have a passion for, and the avenues to pursue them.
This is a great atmosphere to begin to discover your passions.
But the thing I've had to learn on my own, with a little help from my friends, is that it's o.k. not to know. It's o.k. to stumble and fall, get back up and head down an unmarked path. Getting to know mountains of textbooks and getting great grades is awesome, but set aside some time to get lost in your own head.
Explore your own archives, unlock some emotions and figure out what makes you tick. Try and leave some empty blocks in your daily planners and just see what kind of spontaneous decisions you can make to fill them, maybe even checking out my last column for some ideas.
Plans are fine. But don't be afraid to live more free formed. What needs to be done will get done, and everything will fall in to place. If you don't know your major, that's fine. If you're not on a career path, that's fine. If you don't even know where your next meal is coming from, you're definitely in for an exciting adventure. It's ok not to know. In fact, it might even make living a little more fun.
- Droddy is a senior from Indianapolis, Ind., majoring in communication.