As the youth in our society, we are expected to have our lives planned out to the last detail. Where we are going to college, what we are majoring in, what we want to pursue as a career, and so many other life-changing choices are pressured upon us when we don’t fully know who we are yet. Though our parents and teachers may occasionally say we have all the time in the world and that it’s okay if we don’t have it all figured out yet, their actions show the opposite.

At this age, many of us are still in the process of forming who we are and discovering our passions. People approach me with the big question of, “What do you plan to do in the future?” Of course, I stand there trying to make “I have no idea what I’m going to do with my life” sound sophisticated. In reality, I have only just begun to understand what I have deep passions for.

While I was at work one day, where many of the employees are in college, they emphasized how we don’t need to know what we are going to do with our entire lives yet. They went on to discuss how most of them have changed their majors more times than they can count. As I listened to what they were saying, I realized how I can learn about myself and adjust what actions I make that will affect the future as I discover new fields.

One major thing that we need to understand is that we do not need to know what our life is going to look like when we are only seventeen years old. The time we grow and discover the passions we have is a journey that we should embrace. If we do so, we can offer so much more to our society. If you don’t take time to find what you truly want to do in life, then you’ll land yourself in an occupation that you have no drive for. We’ve all had a teacher who didn’t like teaching, and that affected the classes environment and was less effective than teachers who love to teach.

We also need to take care of our mental and physical selves; but when we are overwhelmed with the pressure and stress that engulfs our daily lives, we often set those on the back burner. This can lead to severe depression and a very unhealthy lifestyle. I have watched all three of my siblings fall into this trap one time or another. Seeing them stay up into the early hours of the morning, only eating a small snack if eating at all, and barely going out because of the stress they feel showed me the intense consequences that these actions can have on one’s mind and body. Some ways that we can keep our minds healthy is to take some time to slow down, relax, and take a breath. This can help the weight of the stress not seem so heavy.

So as coming to this realization, I have decided that I am going to slow down and enjoy the amazing journey that will bring me to see who I am and who I want to become. So I urge you, take the steps needed to discover who you are and all you have to offer the world.