Why Fear of the Future is Okay

By Ursula Vollmer 

I always thought I knew what I wanted to do with my life before I came to college. I felt as if there was one path that I was going to go on to end up in a perfect vision. Yet as I went from class to class, it quickly became clear that I actually had no idea what I wanted to do. As I have continued to adjust to freshman year, I have learned reasons as to why believing that I am to have my whole life figured out is a totally valid and welcome fear to have, no matter how scary it is to not be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. While it is important to have goals in mind that keep you on track towards the future, it is also subsequently important to follow spontaneously where your mind and heart lead you. It is in this discovery that the future could in fact become illuminated. 

One of the reasons I believe that fear of the future is healthy is because it motivates you to find out the difference between what you are passionate about and what you are good at. Figuring out the skills you have, whether it is writing, reading, or using numbers can help to gear you towards discovering careers that may be a potential fit. This past semester, I have been able to figure out what areas I excel in, as well as what may not be my strong suit. For example, even if I may not be 100% passionate about writing essays but happen to be good at it, this knowledge can help me to adjust to a path where I could merge what I am passionate about with these skills for the future. 

However, even when those passions may be hard to discover immediately, the best thing to do is take what is offered and make the most out of it. When registering for classes, I choose to find one class to take out of pure curiosity. Making an effort to notice what sparks interest is exciting and equally as important as completing all the requirements. Even if it does not fulfill a requirement or count towards a potential major, the knowledge that you can take away from the class is far more valuable, regardless of the fact even when finishing it, you may realize marine biology is not your thing. 

While there are many ways to weed out the areas of expertise depending on what you are good at or what you are interested in, it is also important in times of stress to calm the mind. The hardest part about being fearful of the future is comparing yourself to others. Each person is on their own indivirtual path of self-discovery and no one path is going to look exactly the same. As many say, comparison is the thief of joy. That is in turn extremely apparent in college when talk of majors, future plans, internships, and life after these four years can get in the way. Though it may be uncomfortable, I have found that taking myself out of those conversations and turning the discussion around is a helpful way to ensure that I stay out of the comparison trap, focusing on myself rather than trying to carve a path based on someone else’s skill or passions. 

Despite just entering college, I have taken this writing post as a way to speak to any other people who do not quite yet know what their calling is in life yet. The joy of college is that this is the time to explore, the time to grow, and the time to enter into a new sphere of learning. While there are many people already on career journeys, it is okay to not have it all figured out. Try something new, take deep breaths, and resort to journaling any of these present thoughts and feelings down to look back on. Looking back on those writings may make you laugh, smile, or cry, but regardless, they will make you proud of how far you’ve come. Even though inspiration for the future may not strike in a lightbulb moment, there will be a time when things click. Use fear as motivation, as the tool towards combating comparison and embracing the road that lies ahead.