Lost And Anxious – Not Knowing What Lies Ahead 😧

Dear Junior,

This is a letter from me to you. A letter from someone who once felt just as lost as you feel right now, someone who still struggles to figure out what the future holds for her. Through this letter, I hope you feel a little more comforted, a little less anxious and a little less alone.

Many of you guys may be like me. You fear uncertainty and hence would love to have your life planned out. However, you can try and you can plan as much as you want (be it choosing a uni course or trying to foresee what kind of career path to take), but it seems like you are going nowhere as you have no idea what you want.

You too get stressed when the adults tell you that you have to think about your future, that you have to choose your career path ASAP. And you think and you plan but you just have no clue what you are going to do in the future. After all, you’re young, you haven’t had the opportunity to experience and experiment. How could you possibly make decisions that will influence the course of your entire life?

You too feel lost because you have no clue where your interests lie. Well, I didn’t either! In JC, I did not know what I wanted to do in university as I had NO INTEREST in anything. I didn’t like Math so I knew all sorts of engineering and computing were not for me… I couldn’t be bothered with the sciences so taking sciences in university was not an option. I didn’t favour languages enough for me to want to pursue anything language-related either. I felt like I didn’t like anything enough and that made me even more confused and unsure of what kind of courses I want to read in uni and what kind of career path I want to pursue.

You too feel suffocated by the big-stakes decisions awaiting you. You may feel like you are not prepared and not ready to make such decisions. You also feel that if you make a wrong decision, your life would be derailed.

This feeling of being LOST and not knowing what you want and what you are made for may make you even more anxious and fearful of your future. I understand, and I’m here to say that it will be okay. That’s why I’m writing this letter to you today.

So today, I will be sharing with you some tips and tricks to help you navigate this difficult phase of your life, when you feel unsure and uncertain of the future.

First of all, it is untrue that if you make a “wrong” decision, your life will be derailed completely and you will never be able to get to where you want to be. While the decisions awaiting us are seemingly “life-changing” and are considered big-stakes decisions, it is not the end of the world if later in life, you realise that the option you chose is not for you. There will always be other opportunities and alternatives that will come around. While you may take a longer route to get to where you want to be, you can still get there if you want to. So… don’t fear making decisions. Embrace the uncertainty that comes with every decision made and take a leap of faith. Even if in the future, you don’t like where you are heading, there is always something that you can do about it to head to your final destination and achieve your goal.

Secondly, most people won’t know what they want to do in life at such a young age. You don’t have to feel pressured for not knowing what you want in life yet. It is perfectly okay to feel lost and not know what exactly you want. You are still in the experimental phase of your life. Take all the time you need to slowly discover what you want in life.

Lastly, here are some tips for you as you try to find out where your interests lie.

1) Do research online

• Look for the courses which are offered in the different universities.

• Look at the specific modules offered for the different types of majors in University

• Watch Youtube videos of people talking about the different university majors/occupations

• Find out what kind of career prospects there are for the courses that you are interested in

• Look at the job scopes of the careers you are interested in

2) Go for internships

• By going for internships, you get to try things out personally and see if it is something for you!

3) Attend seminars, open houses and Q&A sessions

• Through these events, you get to learn more about the courses in university and the job scopes of the different careers out there.

• People working in the field may also share with you their experiences and lifestyles working in their respective fields.

4) Talk to people!

• You can talk to your parents, guardians, seniors or teachers.

• Ask them to share with you their experiences – be it taking a certain course in Uni or taking up a certain type of job! You would never know but these experiences and stories may give you some inspiration to what you want to do in life!

Before I sign off, I just want to wish you guys all the best in trying to find your interests and desired paths. You may feel lost and it is perfectly okay to feel this way. Don’t beat yourself over it as all of us would feel this way at some points in our lives. Give yourself some time to figure things out :)

With love,

Your senior.