Please stop asking me what I’m going to do with my life
You’re freaking me out
Being in your third year at university comes with the assumption that you have your whole future mapped out and you know which sector of this crazy world you want to go into. But honestly, us third years don’t have a clue and we are trying to own that, even if it’s terrifying.
If a third year tells you that they are doing a Masters, it’s probably because they need another year to think about what they actually want to do.
We are attempting to live with the uncertainty of it all, so if you could just smile and support us that would be fab, because honestly, we have enough on our plates with essays and exams – don’t even mention the word dissertation to us.
I study English Literature and Philosophy, two degrees typically placed in the non-vocational category and thus my career path is a little less clear cut than others. Believe me, I wish it was that easy, but I was shit at science, like most humanities students. In fact, I know more about what I don’t want to do than what I do want to do.
So please stop assuming that just because I study English means I want to be a teacher. It doesn’t and I honestly couldn’t think of anything worse.
In theory, the world really is the third year’s oyster. We can dabble in this and dabble in that. Frankly, we can put our fingers in multiple pies and have a whale of a time finding our place in this scary world because at the end of the day, we are only just turning 21.
The humanities students’ life plan may not be as obvious as those of others, but it doesn’t mean our prospects are less than the medics and law students out there. I’m fed up of the concerned looks I get from adults (I still consider myself a child) when I say “I’m not sure what I want to do yet.”
Look, I’m sorry Sue, but I just haven’t found a job which rewards me for watching an entire Netflix series in one sitting. But if you’re willing to offer me work experience, I’d probably take it.
It seems like that’s what everyone else was doing while I was busy with shift work in an attempt to afford just one item of clothing in Topshop. And now I’m still in my overdraft just like everyone else.
But seriously, how in God’s name did some people manage to get work experience at Cosmo or land an internship at Jaguar Land Rover while they were still in sixth form? Where did they find the time? And I don’t even want to talk about where they found the connections. Nepotism ain’t fun if you don’t got it.
The world is my oyster thing is hugely liberating and extremely terrifying at the same time.
So I’m issuing a plea on behalf of all final year university students, please stop questioning us on our life plans.
9am starts are still a struggle for us, let alone knowing where we will be once we graduate. So quit with the questions and leave us to our drinking.