So in recent weeks being a senior with only four classes left finish up my degree I've had a lot of time on my hands to watch television and contemplate my future. While watching the television show One Tree Hill one of the main characters began working on a documentary asking the question to his friends "What comes next?". With all of the remaining cast members being in different positions in their life, the answers and the actions they took showed that taking that next step after being in a position that we became so familiar with is hard and difficult.
As a senior with only so many weeks remaining of being a student, we hear that same question from our parents, friends and teachers of what comes next for us. That question not only ecompasses a career decision, but also a whole lifestyle change. For the last 21 years of my life, I've been "a kid" always being able to use that excuse so to speak for not having to make the difficult decisions that an adult has to make. Unfortunately, when I receive that dipolma in May I lose the security blank I've carried around for my whole life. I've often wondered when looking at my older cousins and even my parents, when is it that you become an adult; when you feel like you're capable of making these decisions? When do you stop feeling like you're still in high school and that you're ready for the real world.
The more I sit and analyze those questions the more I begin to think that maybe there is no one singular moment that is uniform for everyone in terms of the changing of the guard. Maybe it's a good thing that some of us stay kids a little bit longer than others. With that said maybe that's the best way to the question of what comes next; through the eyes of a kid. When we're young we have imagination and dream of becoming anything we want. While Sacred Heart University has provided me a lot I still think astronaut and President of the United States are out of the question, but there is still so much that we can choose to take on. I feel like sometimes, especially as seniors, we pigeon hole ourselves into thinking "these" are the only options we have and "this" is all we can do. The truth is right now is the one time in our lives that we have the ability to reach for something higher and think outside the box of what comes next for us.
I guess before I sign off my message to everyone reading this is to think big when trying to answer what comes next. Don't settle, we're too young still to settle. Reach dream imagine and work for it because I'm still a believer in the theory that if you work hard enough you can achieve whatever you want. Remember life isn't a destination, it's a journey and that's the beauty of life
