The Ultimate Culture Shock

With graduation a mere five days away, I suppose I can't blame anyone for asking me that dreaded question, "What are you going to do after you graduate?" Did I accomplish my goal of full-time employment? No. But, sometimes goals change. The truth is I know exactly what I want to do next year, but I am hesitant because it is not what I am expected to do.

I have been a student all my life--it's all I know. On Saturday, everything will change as I enter the "real world." Nobody ever prepares you for this change--the ultimate culture shock. I'm not convinced there's anything you can do to prepare, except to embrace it. When summer arrives, my friends will move and start their new lives with new jobs in new cities meeting new people. I couldn't be happier for my classmates who are eager to begin their careers at their 9-5 jobs, but I cannot replicate this same sentiment for myself.

When I was in Berlin last summer, my friend took me to a terrific bookstore and told me that it was the place where he decided what he wanted to study. Torn between law and medicine, he perused both sections of books until he realized that he preferred looking at law statutes over diagrams of the human anatomy. Remembering this, I tried the same technique a couple of months ago at a local Barnes & Noble. I explored sections of books covering topics in business, marketing, and psychology, which all appeased my curiosity for a few minutes, but where I later found myself spending hours was in the travel section. I plopped down on a step ladder with a pile of books about Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, and other exotic lands. I tried again at another bookstore just a few weeks ago with the mission of finding GRE and GMAT prep books. But I ended up coming home with an Australia travel guide and a copy of both The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I'm not sure what this says about me, but I think it's a clear sign that I'm not entirely ready to grow up.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I don't have to do what everyone else is doing. My future may be filled with uncertainty, but it's also full of possibility. It's an exciting time in life--to be young, foolish, and running on the fuel of dreams. I know God has a purpose for me, and when that plan reveals itself, I will share it with you, dear readers. 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart 

and lean not on your own understanding; 

in all your ways acknowledge him 

and he will make your paths straight."  

-Proverbs 3: 5-6

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