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Latwell Nyangu, Youth Interactive Writer
University is a time for students to redefine their norms. It is time to create the life you deserve, the life you did not know was a reality.
No student should ever think they are incapable of doing something simply because no one has ever told them they could.
University is an ideal time to envision the life you want.
This involves setting clear goals and visualising your aspirations.
By understanding what fulfilment means to you, you can create a compelling future that motivates you to take action.
There is a popular line, ‘No matter how much students plan, the future is always uncertain, but a well-defined direction going towards something, and some plan takes a student somewhere towards that direction”.
Some plans are better than no plans.
This week, I am descending on some students, who when asked about their future, reflect darkness and show no sign of light.
Some students fail to reflect on their future and professional prospects.
I want students in college to know it’s OK if you are unsure about your future. But college is a place where you can explore your passions and eventually decide what you want to do. There is no pressure.
There is a reason why you can commit to a college undeclared, and why you can change your major as many times as you want.
The beauty of education is the diversity that it brings.
The academic journey builds community by bringing students together from diverse backgrounds and experiences for a common cause — one so strong that we strive to break barriers and challenge the status quo.
Education empowers, inspires and opens the mind.
Learning brings to light what has been buried across generations. And growing up, I always had some dreams and thought that my life would fall into place.
I would always hear some colleagues dreaming of becoming doctors, pilots, nurses, soldiers, engineers and journalists among other professions.
Surely, we knew little about these dreams and how we were to travel the academic journey until we stepped our feet in school and college yards.
Not everything will work out the way you want it to but don’t remain in the dark up to the end. I have come to realise that it’s unhealthy to try to live your life under a strict plan.
The future is uncertain, it’s not a characteristic of the individual but of the future itself.
Essentially, someone who acknowledges the uncertainty of the future is in a more favourable position than someone who asserts certainty, as the latter is misguided about the fundamental nature of the future.
As I reflect on this, only one thought comes to my mind: dream, believe in your dream, and take massive actions, till you make it happen.
Some say there is light at the end of the tunnel. While some say, we cross the river when we get there.
However, for the academic journey, it seems contradictory. Never wait to cross the river when you get there.
You have to know what you want the moment you set your foot on the university campus.
Students’ confidence in their futures has significantly dropped since growing up children would aspire to be someone in different professions.
These days, it seems to be the opposite where some students remain in the dark even after being enrolled at an academic institution.
It’s important to acknowledge how career ambitions may have changed through the times, with the pace of life — giving everyone an opportunity to reflect.
Many college students tend to go to university with no direction about their future.
Some even remain in darkness up to the last semester.
I validate this by telling students, “Don’t remain in your darkness”.
You cannot be aware of something that does not exist in your everyday world.
As a result, students are limited to belief that there are no opportunities for them outside of their typical experiences. Throughout my career, I have heard students say, “People like me don’t go to college.”
Students, generalise what they see, as well as what they don’t see. How could youth think there is a place for them if they do not see people who look like them or have lived like them, hold positions of influence in what is framed to be “the real world”?
The real world presented to them is illustrated as a place for folks who are not like them.
It is imperative that students move away from the darkness of their futures.
For this reason, I encourage and challenge students to try something new, step out of their comfort zones and seek career guidance rather than just going to college without a clue.
It is important to also seek advice from those who have been through the journey rather than to just hope to cross the river when you get there.
A piece of advice can serve as the link between your everyday life and the rest of the world that exists beyond your daily norm.
Your circumstances do not define your future.
The challenges you face today do not have to persist throughout your life.
This is me telling you, the student who is unsure of your future: You can do it. I know it. Others know it. I hope you know it, too.
It’s completely normal to feel unsure about your future as a student but one piece of advice I can offer is to explore your interests and passions.
Students shouldn’t wait to identify their potential career paths that align with their values and goals at a later stage, rather the earlier, the better.
Remember that it’s okay to not have everything figured out right away and that your path may change over time.
Until we meet for a toast!
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