I am currently in a phase where I am trying to find my place in life, and ultimately this means what career path I will take. When I look back at my liberal arts education and how it can serve me in the real world, I feel as though I was placed in a dense forest and asked to try to navigate my way out without a map, compass, or even a snack. Yes, I learned a nice variety of various subjects and even managed to “major” in one, but why do I feel like I have no direction? Why am I asking myself constantly “what do I do with my life?” Wasn’t college supposed to help with this? When I was growing up, I would fantasize about my future and undoubtedly, in my happy little image I would go college (be wildly popular of course), graduate, and easily find a high paying job that had upward mobility and a wonderful benefits package. (To be honest, I really only fantasize about great benefits now a days). But the reality is I have only become more and more confused with what my direction and purpose in life should be. My undergraduate career has done little to nothing in helping me find my way. I look at Universities with Cooperative Education Programs where students have full time study partnered with semesters of real world work experience and wonder why other University’s do not follow this teaching style. This is genius! I think the only way to find out what you want to do with your life is by working in the field first.

Of course, Graduate school is an option to narrow down the field, but even deciding on what to study is challenging. I do not want to make a $40,000 mistake. That’s not like buying a dress and only wearing it once. This is serious money to pay off in exchange for a degree that may or may not help my career.

Since I cannot go back in time and do college all over again in a completely different way, I will continue to search jobs and degrees that somehow cover all of my interests, not make me suicidal, and pay me enough to live in this exorbitantly expensive city. On second thought, I think I will go back to day dreaming in my safe little bubble.

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