As many who have been there and done that, junior year is supposedly synonymous with stress. High school in general tends to be full of stressful times, but there’s nothing more nerve wracking for upperclassmen than the prospect of college applications and college admissions. Not to mention the fact that everyone thinks they need to know what they want to pursue and who they want to be in the future, but that’s not true at all. Likewise, it’s great if you do have your future planned out, but sometimes you end up being so focused on that certain path that you block out all other possibilities.
Since even before my freshman year, I had my mind set on double majoring in film production and creative writing, with a minor in English. I spent endless nights doing research about colleges and my heart had always been set on USC-SCA and NYU Tisch. I made several lists of all the colleges I would apply to (both undergraduate and graduate), hired a private college counselor, and seized every chance to build up my art portfolio.
Fast forward to the summer before my junior year which I knew would be the time for even more extensive college research, drivers ed, AP classes, SAT and ACT testing, and everything else related to college applications. Despite having my heart set on pursuing film, I found myself with two non-film related internships over the summer: one at the surgical wing of a hospital and one at a local political campaign. At first, they were just things I decided to do to build up my resume, but soon I found myself being exposed to other possibilities for my future and I can definitely tell you now that my plans and aspirations since freshman year have changed.
Obviously everyone has different aspirations and experiences, but my point is that just because the time is coming near for you to apply to colleges doesn’t mean that you have to know exactly what you want to pursue. If you do know, make sure you know what other possibilities there are. Go put yourself out there, experience things, and be open-minded. There’s endless opportunities and committing to a career just for the sake of committing shouldn’t be something you feel pressured to do.
