Sitting behind a school desk, high school students twiddle their thumbs and sharpen their pencils, anticipating their entry into the world. As they learn, capturing their last publicly-funded educational memories, a growing pressure accumulates behind them. Questions about these teens’ futures begin to bear weight. The considerations no longer exist as an opportunity to dream about adult life, they invite students into it. As college application season intensifies for seniors, the importance of planning a future and acting on that plan appears magnified. With their eyes off of the microscope and on the horizon, however, students can see that not knowing what their future holds might work in their favor.
In high school, students can choose the rigor of their classes, their electives and their extracurriculars. While this continues to a certain degree in higher education, the student’s major still will dictate his or her class load. At times, students will find a subject deeply uninteresting, needlessly difficult or otherwise unwanted. While perseverance maintains its standing as a quality trait, a deep dislike for a class can signal a deep dislike for a future career. Ultimately a course load’s impact on a student’s mental health should not cause excessive struggle as students search for an ideal career. In situations such as these, a collegiate educatee may find a need to pivot his or her path. For students who had planned their futures over a long period of time or built their senses of self to coexist with their desired career, the adjustment may cause unnecessary growing pains.
Proponents of in-depth planning may argue that knowing what one wants to do and sticking to it will improve students’ chances of accomplishing it. These supporters of drive cite the achievements and activities students may enjoy in high school and the selective colleges that could admit them due to demonstrated interest in a career. A student who already interned at a hospital, they argue, will display the drive and qualifications of an excellent doctor. While when students truly feel passionate about a project or goal, these arguments hold up, placing these expectations on every teen creates an atmosphere where they work toward goals simply to combat feelings of inferiority. In reality, teenagers do not possess the same mental facilities as adults and their youth limits their perspective.
“I don’t think they [high school and college students] should trap themselves. I mean some people do have a passion and they know that’s what they want to do and it excites them. That’s a unique situation, but I think so many people feel the stress of ‘I’ve got to get a good job and I’ve got to pay for this’ and people end up in careers or majors that they’re not at all interested in or adept at. There will be careers when you graduate from college that we don’t even know what they are… so who knows what’s going to be there in five years. I think it limits people unless they really have a drive and desire, [and] I think it limits them if they force themselves into something they’re not good at,” Advanced Placement (AP) English Language and Composition teacher Cathie Lawson said.
Teens cannot process information as effectively as a comparatively mature person can. Since adolescent brains have not developed fully yet, high school students approach decisions with the amygdala, the brain’s emotional center. In contrast, adults engage their prefrontal cortex when deciding to a higher degree. The rational, fact-based part of the brain takes in information and scientists tend to associate it with full-picture decisions. As a young person, passions and choices may not rest on truths that will last throughout the individual’s life, so taking time to explore different topics can inform well-rounded decisions later in life. This information may come from exploring and reflecting on different college classes, hobbies or relationships, but by gaining an understanding of subjects and careers in young adulthood rather than focusing on one, students can use their fully developed minds to create a favorable future.
As teens struggle with decisions, they also struggle to find a niche that suits them. Though high school cliques may provide a semblance of this understanding, the majority of teens have not yet seen every aspect of the world, so asking them to select a place in it sets limits for people as they work toward a superior future. Though a student may feel an understanding or passion for climate research, for example, they may find later on that international social issues provide a basis for their true goals. By understanding that these changes occur, the younger generations can explore and work on diverse topics to find one that truly embodies their goals.
“When I went to college, I thought I wanted to become an attorney and I worked in an attorney’s office and the head suggested that I major in business administration… It was not the major for me but I stuck with it and I also thought ‘I don’t really want to go to more school, I would rather get out and make money.’ I never ever thought about changing [my major], so then I went and worked for four years in business and I realized that I really didn’t feel fulfilled with what I was doing. I was exhausted. So when my husband and I married and moved, I kept finding myself saying ‘when I am a teacher I will do this’… so I went up [to a local university] and devised a plan on how I could switch to education,” Lawson said.
Ultimately, students look forward to a long life, and understanding that youth remains a time for exploration can help ease stress and provide a stable, happy future. As people search for a passion, a purpose and a livelihood, the realization that allows these beautiful parts of life to change with their growth, or not exist yet, pushes for mindful views of their wants.
