So here’s the thing—when I started college, I had this super detailed plan. I was gonna major in business, get an internship by junior year, graduate with honors, and then immediately slide into a job at some fancy tech startup. I even had a color-coded Notion dashboard and everything (it was honestly a little extra, not gonna lie).
But yeah… life had other plans.
When Plans Start Falling Apart (Spoiler: That’s Normal)
Sophomore year hit different. Classes got harder, motivation tanked, and I started questioning everything. I remember sitting in an Excel-heavy class, learning about software integrations for like, the fourth time that week, and thinking… am I even into this? Like, sure, optimizing workflows and automating reports sounds cool in theory, but is this what I wanna do for the next 40 years?
I started talking to friends in other majors, just kinda casually exploring what they were learning and working on. One of my roommates was in nursing and would come home exhausted but weirdly happy. Like, she’d be ranting about a 12-hour clinical shift, but her eyes would light up talking about helping patients or figuring out tricky medical cases.
It low-key made me spiral. I started Googling random stuff at 2 a.m. like “How to Become a Nurse” and “Is it too late to change my major junior year?” I wasn’t even trying to become a nurse, but that whole vibe of doing something that matters hit me hard.
You Can Pivot Without Losing Everything
I didn’t switch to nursing (shoutout to people who do, though, y’all are heroes), but I did realize something important: it’s okay to change course. Like, no one really talks about how much you grow between 18 and 22. You’re literally a different person every semester.
What I did end up doing was switching my concentration within the business major. I went from general management to focusing on tech operations and business systems. It’s more niche, but also more “me.” I started learning about how software like QuickBooks, Asana, and Zapier help actual businesses run smoother. Stuff that felt super boring before now felt kinda powerful, because I could see how it impacted people’s day-to-day lives.
Oh, and I landed a part-time gig helping a local food truck owner digitize her invoicing and set up an expense tracker. She paid me in tacos and Venmo and I genuinely loved it more than my actual internship. Go figure.
The Pressure to Have It All Figured Out Is So Dumb
Can we talk about how college makes you feel like you need to have your entire life plan by the time you’re 20? Like, why is that a thing? I swear, every time someone asks me “what’s next after graduation?” I just wanna crawl under a desk.
But the truth is, most of us are figuring it out as we go. Some people peak early, some people peak at 35. And a lot of people switch careers more than once. I know someone who started in finance, moved to UX design, then became a yoga instructor. She’s thriving now. There’s no right path.
Find Your Tools, But Don’t Obsess Over Them
Okay, random side rant: once you get into businessy stuff, it’s easy to get obsessed with tools and productivity software. Like, there’s a whole subculture of people who live and breathe Notion, Airtable, Trello, etc. And don’t get me wrong, I love me some good automations. But sometimes it becomes more about organizing the work than actually doing the work.
I fell into that trap hard. I’d spend hours tweaking my dashboards and barely touch the actual assignments I was supposed to track. At one point I had a “career vision board” in ClickUp with zero actual progress being made IRL.
Now I use a basic calendar, a Notes app, and sometimes Google Sheets. Keep it simple. Get stuff done. Don’t let the tools become your personality.
You’re Not Behind, You’re Just Human
If you’re reading this and panicking because your life path looks nothing like your roommate’s or your cousin’s or that one LinkedIn influencer who’s already a CEO at 25… just breathe. You’re not behind. You’re living. You’re learning.
And maybe you do want to become a nurse, or a data analyst, or a small business owner. Cool. Start googling. Talk to people. Take a random elective that sounds fun. Life isn’t linear, and you’re allowed to explore.
Also, trust your gut. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. If something lights you up inside, chase it—even if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else.
