It’s hard to decide what I want to do in the future; there are so many amazing options. I would like to be a nurse—that would be amazing, just to be able to help someone—but then I realize that there are so many paths for just one thing. Each path sounds as amazing as the before it and after it it’s hard to narrow it down. But then something else may snatch my attention like being an anthropologist. I’m honestly scared though about my future. I know that a student in college may change their mind on their major multiple times, but I can barely narrow it down now. In a way it’s almost scary. But regardless of what I pick in the end whether it’s some doctor or nurse or something entirely different, I just want to help the people around me; whether its healing a life threatening wound, give a kid a shot, or finding out how the people have evolved over time and how it has helped us a as people. Everything that a person can possibly take in college can help others. Maybe my reasons are too broad or maybe my need to help people just isn’t picky.
As of right now I don’t have any goals that need any help. But the one thing the Pre-Collegiate program will help me do is decide whether or not I want to do anything in the medical field. One future goal may be to tell me what classes I excel in and the ones that just aren’t for me. By knowing these, maybe just maybe I’ll be able to know what I want to do.
Taylor-- I totally understand your anxiety about college and trying to decide what career you'd like to pursue. Honestly, you don't have to narrow down your focus just yet-- it's VERY common for people not to know what they want to do when they grow up. One really great thing about college is all the exposure you'll be getting to multiple disciplines and corresponding career choices. Honestly, it's practically endless! It's sometimes by taking a class or two that you realize what it is that you feel passionate about or what you really love to study or what absolutely turns you off or you hate with a passion, and possible careers can be identified from that experience. It's good to know that right now you know that you want to be able to help people. That's really different from the teen who says she wants to make a lot of money, or that he wants a job that gets the adrenalin pumping. Each one of those things are going to send people down different career paths. Anyway, check out this site when you have time, it may be helpful: http://www.bygpub.com/books/tg2rw/careers.htm
ReplyDeleteUp through my senior year in high school, I had no idea what I wanted to study or what I wanted to do for a career. I didn't even know that I wanted to go to college. It's almost as though everything was decided for me-- I was really good at playing the classical guitar, so a couple of my teachers got together and set up private lessons with a local classical guitarist. His goal was to teach me more about the guitar and also to get me ready for a music audition at the University of Denver because my teachers decided that I WAS going to go to college. That summer, I auditioned and was accepted into the music program (ahead of getting accepted into the University, actually! I had to scramble to get an application in to DU after I got accepted in its music program). So I studied music for 2 years and kinda wrapped my mind around the idea that I'd be a concert guitarist. Well, I dropped out after 2 years because I realized that I didn't feel passionate enough about it to stick it out AND I accepted that despite being the only Freshman accepted into the guitar program at that time and being the only female in the program, I really wasn't cut out to be a musician. It took over 10 years, but eventually I went back to school because I realized that I wanted to be a librarian and had to finish my undergraduate studies in order to go to library school, which is a graduate level program.
By the way, I'm sure it will NOT take you that long to figure out what you want to do because you'll have a lot more guidance than I did, and a huge support network in the Pre-Collegiate Health Careers program even if you choose not to pursue anything in the medical field. While it seems like Pre-Collegiate won't help you because you don't know what you want, a lot of what you are learning and being exposed to is VERY applicable to other careers and going to college in general. So there's still lots to take advantage of in that program.
Best wishes to you! Feel free to come see me any time if you need help in your classes or just want to shoot the breeze about college. It's always good to have a librarian (or a bunch of librarians) in your support network both for school AND for whatever career you chose to pursue.
Tina M. Moser, MLIS
Access Services Librarian
tina.moser@ucdenver.edu
Health Sciences Library
University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus