“There’s a time and place for everything. It’s called college.”

Three (or four, or five, depending on what you’re doing) years of your life go by in a flash making new friends and getting busy having the best time you’ll ever have. And suddenly, college is over. You’re standing at the crossroads of your young life, wondering “what’s next?” 

Many of them seem to have it all figured out. Some pretend like they’re all chill but you know they have a plan. And then there’s you, caught somewhere between what what’s expected of you and that certain something you really want to do but haven’t quite figured out what.

Basically, you have no idea what you want to do.

The end of college, marks the starting of your horror movie titled “aagey ka kya socha hai?“

Your relatives will relentlessly ask you about  future plans. Most of us don’t really have any so we would make up a generic answer like “I’ll do an MBA” to stall them. But in your heart, you feel uncomfortable. You know you’re being dishonest.

But believe me, you’re not alone. Even if you were, it’s not such a bad place to be in.

If you’re looking it as one door being slammed shut in your face, you’re missing out on the view you can enjoy through the many windows there are.

What if you don’t even know what you want yet? Why should you limit yourself?

Maybe I wanted to do a lot of things. What if I wanted to become a filmmaker? What if I wanted to be a comedian as well? Can I not do both of these together? Why do I need to know what I want to do? Is it bad that I hadn’t figured it all out by the time I graduated?

I’m scared because this time every year, till the end of time, I see so many individuals coming out of college with so many hopes and aspirations only to be crushed by the big bad world.

So many students graduate every year with no clue about what they want to do in life. They are scared as if this is a bad thing. It’s really not. Most of us didn’t have a clue about what we really want in life. It’s okay, guys. Welcome to the club!

Most of us don’t realise that there’s a five year window at the end of our college lives. These five years are crucial to what we might end up making of our lives. It’s not the time to go for the tried and tested formula. It’s about experimenting with and exploring our own selves.

This not the time to do something that you’re supposed to do but something that you want to.

If you’re in your early 20s and you’re graduating from your college (even if you’re not graduating and dropping out of college), you are entering some of your greatest years in life. This is the time when you don’t go for something that is practical and safe.

This is the time where you finally have the ability to chase your dreams. This is the time when you have the perfect opportunity to try out an oddball profession. This is the time when you can get into a relationship and probably tell your crush how you truly feel about him/her. This is the time when you can finally try your hand at something you have always thought of as interesting.

Your life need not depend on what others want you to do.

A lot of us graduated with a degree in a subject we don’t even enjoy anymore. That’s life for you. You don’t need to commit to a course you picked just because you’re supposed to.

It’s not what your relatives think or what the society expects you to do that should have the power to influence your life decisions. It’s your life. Take control of it.

I know it’s scary when you don’t have anything to look forward to. I know it makes you uneasy when you can’t rely on your future. Speaking from personal experience, I’d say that life has a tremendous ability to sort out everything on its own. This is the time when you should try your hand at different jobs to see where you can be of most use.

Life won’t be easy on you. Do everything you can to break out of this tiring charade of modern life.

This is not when you want to get the job your mom always wanted you to. This is not the time to maximise how much money you can make so that you can own a lavish apartment and get your own BMW. This is the time when you can go all out for your dreams.

Don’t do it because it’s the secret that was shared during a TEDx talk. Don’t do it because you want inner peace and taking the unconventional path is cool. Life is not about a story where you can quit everything and go out on a world tour with a bike by your side. It’s fucking hard out there. Life will rough you up as soon as you get out of college. Do you want to let yourself be taken apart by life and the society or do you want to live life like you’ve always wanted to?

Experiences and memories hold more value than a career ever could.

Try doing a job that might not pay you that well at start and gain a lot of actual skill from it. Learn how to cook. You know, eating is something that you’re going to do thrice a day for the rest of your life. Don’t you want to be in a situation where you won’t be dependent on anyone for this basic thing in your life? Talk to people, socialise with them. Make friends from different walks of life. 

At the end of the five year window, these skills will help you tremendously at the job you’ll want to do. These skills won’t be taught to you in college but can only be gained by experience.

You’ll anyway have to work for the rest of your life. Why be bothered by a set plan to achieve that? Make your own destiny. Shape your own future. It’s your life to live, not anyone else’s.

Your parents will often tell you about their high expectations and how they are only trying to watch out for you. What they won’t tell you is that this tried and tested formula will get you the moolah but life is more than just your paycheck. What does the society say? Ace your boards. Go to a good college. Get your degree. Do an MBA. Get a job. Get married. But do you really want this? It’s fine to not adhere to these norms. It’ll be an uphill battle at start but in the end, it’ll all be worth it.

We’re not telling you to do absolutely nothing after college. You do need to get a job – it just doesn’t need to be the ‘high-end’ one that everyone’s blindly going for.

We’re telling you that even if you don’t have a plan, it’s cool. Don’t worry if your friends have all found the jobs they wanted straight out of college. That’s great for them, but it doesn’t mean you have to do the same. Not working immediately after you graduate is far from the end of the world. In fact, it might be the best decision you ever make.

Like they say in the movies, “Life mein na, end tak sab kuchh happy ho jaata hai. Happy ending!“