There is one question I really hate to be asked — “What are you going to do after graduation?”
I hate it.
I know it is just something people ask you. It is one of those staple questions like “How are you?” or “Is school going all right?” It is a generic way to start conversation.
I just want to scream at them “I don’t have time to wash my hair, what makes you think I have the time to sit and ponder my future?”
The reason I think I hate it so much is because, well, I don’t know. I have no freaking clue what I want to do when I graduate college. I do what I love and I love what I do, but I need a break from everything, because I’ve been doing what I do since high school.
I know I want to go back to school to get a master’s degree in art. I know I want to work for a magazine one day. But those two things are worlds away. It is probably going to take me a long time before I can get a good-paying job at a magazine.
But in between those things, I want to design things to sell, like stationery, jewelry and art. I want to live closer to my boyfriend while he’s in school. I want to travel all over the place and see and experience new things. I want to write and publish some books.
I don’t think life has to be one career only. I think a career can be built upon several things you enjoy doing, and there are plenty of things I want to do with my life.
So when people ask me what I am going to do when I graduate college, what am I supposed to say? Do I rattle off this endless list of things, or do I just give them the generic answer to their generic question? Truth be told, I would love to take a break from everything for about six months and work at a mindless job that requires no strenuous thought at all, like work at the mall and get a 40 percent discount on clothes that I will ultimately blow my entire paycheck on.
Or even a bookstore or coffee shop job would be nice — surrounded by coffee and literature? Yes, please.
I just need a new scene.
Aside from my “life goals” and “career moves” I wish to accomplish, there are a million other little things I want to do.
I want to spend a week taking beautiful picures. I want to spend an entire day reading and drinking coffee, without worrying about what I “should” be doing. I want to get my room cleaned for real, not just a quicky cleanup where I have 10 minutes to separate the dirty clothes from the clean ones in that pile on the floor.
I want to use this creative energy building up inside of me that I feel like I don’t have time to use.
I want to go on an adventure. I want my life to be an adventure — an amazing, endless adventure.
There are so many things I want to do with my life, but right now, I don’t know what I’m doing. Sometimes it’s scary. Sometimes it’s overwhelming. But I know I will be fine, and I keep telling myself everyone else in my position feels the same way. This is the point in our lives where there are 85 forks in the road and we have to choose which one to take. This is when we figure it all out. This is when we dream the biggest.
But until then, stop asking me.
The Brown-eyed Girl
Don’t ask about post-graduation
Published: Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Updated: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 00:10
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