Verbal Snippets & Snapshots

A lot of things have happened since my winter break in which I spent time both at home in Connecticut and with immediate and extended family members in California. After spending the first week of Intersession continuing to divide time in Connecticut and California, I returned to Baltimore for the remainder of Intersession and have been here ever since. It’s only been a little under a month that I’ve been back in Charm City (as Baltimore is fondly nicknamed)–but as I’ve said, a lot has happened. Among those things includes taking several steps in exploring numerous options for what I’ll do upon graduating.

To make a long story short, I still don’t know yet what I’m doing next year, but I’ve continued to work on weighing the pros and cons of different options. I need to consider a lot of factors, including my ultimate educational and career goals of eventually attending medical school and becoming a physician, as well as the realities of the present (i.e., factors relating to academics, finances, family circumstances, and so on). Currently, I’m considering returning home to the southwestern Connecticut/New York City area and exploring my options there for next year (instead of staying in Baltimore); however, as I often stress, one can never be sure of what the future will be until the future is actually the present. In short: we’ll see what happens!

I like to be organized, and I like to plan things ahead of time as much as possible, so I’ll admit that I’m a little apprehensive about not having my plans for next year anywhere close to set in stone. After learning a lot of life lessons from the time I spent with many people from my family over winter break and after talking to several friends of mine who graduated either last year or two years ago, however, I’ve learned to be not too worried about the future. I’m starting to realize that I just need to do whatever I can–be it researching job opportunities, applying to jobs, exploring grad school options just in case, and so on–and not fret too much about what I can’t do.

Being less than four months away from graduation and fretting about the uncertainty of the future reminded me of how much more anxious I was in high school as a senior–and it made me realize that many of you reading this blog entry might be feeling the same way, too (unless you’ve been accepted ED). With that in mind, I have three pointers on how not to freak out about the future:

1. Breathe. As cliché as it sounds, you do need to take a deep breath, relax, and know that as long as you’ve done what you could, everything will be fine.

2. Have an open mind. Hope for the best, but brace for yourself for the worst. Chances are that the worst probably won’t happen, the best might not happen, and you’ll find yourself somewhere in between (but preferably closer to the best case scenario). In any event, mentally preparing yourself for any kind of situation you can imagine can help you out a lot–not to mention that if your college plans do go as you’ve hoped, having braced yourself for the worst possible scenario will make experiencing your ideal situation all the sweeter.

3. Continue to do what you must do. I can’t stress that enough. If you waste time fretting, all you would’ve accomplished is wasting time. Given that the future is always uncertain, don’t waste the time that you have! Continue to focus on your classes. Continue to do your extracurricular activities. Continue to do whatever you need to do on a daily basis, as you wait to hear word of your college decisions.

With that said, I shall do #1, 2, and 3 myself and resume my daily routine of studying and doing homework! Even though I’m a college senior, I do have a lot in common with many of you who are reading this blog.