With the end of senior year looming, some students are still pondering their plan for life out of high school. These decisions aren’t as easy and result in some cheers, yet some fears. 

With all of the options graduates fresh out of high school have, how is it possible to know what’s best without knowing what the future may hold? I ponder over this question a lot and am still unsure of what the future holds for me.

All my life, I have felt that I’ve had it all together. I seem to know what I want and I make it happen. Senior year, that’s not the case. I find myself more confused and questioning everything I thought I knew.

Freshman year if you would’ve asked me what I wanted to do, I would’ve said a teacher. The answer that seems too simple now. Fast forward to senior year and my answer has completely changed. I have thought about what I’d be able to do that would leave me feeling like I’ve made an impact on someone or something.

I know, or think I know, that I now want to major in child’s psychology with a minor towards child development. Just because I feel like I know, doesn’t mean I am confident in this decision. After research and talking with peers, I’ve found this is a normal feeling to have and it’s totally okay to not know.

Not having your head on straight about where you’re meant to go is not the end of the world either. I’ve been accepted to a handful of colleges, yet here I am, beginning of February, with no clue where I want to start the next chapter of my life. I feel that I narrow it down and then I second guess it all and start back to square one.

While some are in the same boat as me, other students see the future in a more crystal clear sense. Senior Tyler Stenger seems to have a more picture perfect view on his life after high school. Though he was choosing between a couple colleges, he looked into what made the most sense for him and the decision became a lot easier.

“I visited a lot of colleges but I always liked Ohio State ever since I was little. When I went to visit, it was pretty awesome. I was still stuck between that [Ohio State] and Louisville but cost had a lot to do with it, as well as being realistic. I compared the two and felt that Ohio State was the best fit for me as a whole,” said Stenger.

Knowing his career path, and with the help of his classes here at Ross High School, he narrowed down his future plans.

Stenger said, “I tried out all the classes here and knew some I hated, like English. Science was okay. I found out though that I really liked math and then I started to explore different math fields. I’ve decided I want to go to finance and try financial mathematics. That’s the plan.”

Being confident or not doesn’t define your decision. College is like a rough draft; it’s not going to be perfect right away. It’s not going to all just click for one right away and that’s typical. Stenger shared his feelings on his confidence level as the next step nears.

“I’d say I’m pretty confident but I mean I still have plenty of time to try out different things. Really, that’s what college is for.. to study more things you want to do for the rest of your life. You really don’t have to be 100% confident, you just want to try and have an idea. Even if you don’t though, it’s fine and college will help clear all your worries,” Stenger said.

Though Stenger seems to have most of his next steps set in plan, it’s not uncommon to not be like him. According to Penn State University’s website, dus.pdu.edu, “An estimated 20 to 50 percent of students enter college as “undecided” and an estimated 75 percent of students change their major at least once before graduation.”

It seems crazy that even before you graduate high school, you’re expected to make this huge decision that lays out the platform to pave the rest of your life. Don’t freak out though if you come to a complete blank. Just because you don’t know what you want to do right at this exact moment, doesn’t mean that in a year you still won’t know.

Only you know what is right for you. It’s not fun to stress over the little things in life. Trust me. Instead, have fun exploring where life takes you next and branch out to make the most of your life after RHS.