If You’re Starting Your Senior Year, Read This

Senior year of college has a strange way of making you excited and anxious at the same time. You are starting a year you have worked toward for a long time, but you are also getting closer to the point where everyone starts asking the same question: What are you doing after graduation?

Maybe you already know. Maybe you are applying to law school, medical school, grad school, or another program. Maybe you already have a career path in mind and are thinking about applications, interviews, and where you want to live.

And maybe you have absolutely no idea.

Both are completely normal. If you do have a plan, be proud of it, but remember to give yourself grace. And if you do not have a plan yet, you are not late.

You do not need to have your entire career figured out before you walk across the stage. You may apply for jobs you never imagined yourself doing. You may change your mind about the industry you thought you wanted. You may take a job that teaches you more about what you do not want than what you do. You may work for a few years and decide to go back to school later.
Careers can unfold in so many ways.

For now, use this year for more than just figuring out what comes next.
Take the class that sounds interesting. Go to office hours and actually talk to the professor whose career you admire. Say yes to the event you almost skip.

Spend time with your friends, because being able to meet for coffee between classes on a random Tuesday is something you may miss more than you expect. Ask questions. Meet people. Try things. Pay attention to what you are naturally drawn to.

And when you do start thinking about life after college, try not to put so much pressure on your first decision. Your first job does not have to be your forever job. Your first city does not have to be where you stay. Your first plan can change.

You are not choosing the rest of your life this year. You are choosing your next step. So prepare for what is ahead, but do not forget to be where you are.

Senior year of college only happens once. Enjoy it while you are still in it!