Monday, January 10, 2011

It's such a big shoe store...

Well, it's here. One hundred twenty-five thousand dollars and four and a half years later, I'm no longer a student. But now... now I am faced with the inevitable question of "what next???" I think it's even more scary than "how am I going to pay for this?" or "what major should I choose?" (which for me was quite scary. I chose four different ones between freshman and junior year and changed schools completely after I decided). Right now, I am in a merciful state of limbo: I am renting a house near the university until September while I have three jobs and will hopefully be able to save a decent amount of money so that I can afford whatever does come next.

It's kind of funny: I've worked so hard to get here and now, I've got so many options that I feel like someone just handed me a significant gift to card to a really great shoe store (that doesn't practice big feet discrimination.) What pair do I try on first? And do I have to buy the first pair that I try on? That's some pressure, right there. What if I pick the wrong ones? What if they don't fit. Do I want the comfortable, practical ones or the ones that are maybe not the most comfortable but that are so incredibly cute (and knowing me, probably purple) that it really doesn't matter how badly my feet hurt when I finally do take them off. What if the gift card isn't enough to cover it? Do I really want to be stuck with this particular pair of shoes for the rest of my life? Am I sure I didn't just accidentally walk into the tattoo parlor, not the shoe store????

Do I continue my studies? And if so, in what direction? Music? Law? Education? Psychology? Photography? Culinary arts? Is it normal to have a choice field so broad? Although I suppose that if I am honest, I know that photography and culinary schools are in places five and six. I'm not incredibly interested in going to grad school for music, and there is only one place where I'm qualified to study Psychology (that I know of. IPS). Which helps to narrow down the list.

Do I just enter the workforce as an enthusiastic young person with lots of debt to pay off and therefore willing to work nights and weekends? But in what field? Yay for lots of resume filling experiences (for a 22 year old) and liberal arts educations, yeah?

So many options, so many choices. Lucky for me, I do not have to make them today. Today, I'm not going to worry about that. Today, I'm simply going to enjoy my first official day off. And my first day of not returning to the classroom. For now, anyway.