After you graduate high school, friends and family always ask the unavoidable question: "So what's next?" You tell your friends and family a general answer like you'll go on to college and see what's next or you will study a certain area and then decide. That seems to suffice most of the time, but then you begin to think to yourself, "So what is next for me? What is my future career going to look like?"

This is the big question for a lot of people just finishing high school and even students in college. In my experience, I graduated high school and really didn't know what I wanted to be. I would tell friends and family I was going to study human development and family sciences because I knew I loved working with children. Luckily, at the time, I at least had that part figured out. 

Know what you like or what you are passionate about. If you enjoy math, major in accounting. If music is your thing, major in music education. Not sure what to pursue? If you are just starting college, you will have to take a lot of basic courses that are required of everyone looking to obtain an associate or a bachelor's degree. This gives you time to figure out your interests and passions. 

I started my freshman year of college studying human development and family sciences at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. I finished all of my basic courses my freshman year and was super excited to get started on my major classes the next fall. Well, I took a whole four classes before deciding to change my major. I enjoyed the content of the classes and learning about child development, but then I had a course that really turned me away from the major. 

I was looking at pursuing a career in social work or family counseling. In my head, that sounded really great, but while I was in the course, I thought to myself, 'I don't know if I can really handle these emotional family and children situations. I think I would come to work really upset every day.' Not saying individuals in this career really do feel this way about their jobs, but this just meant this career wasn't for me. I didn't feel like I was "tough" enough for it.

Next step: You are in a major you enjoy, but not sure what your career will look like. In my case, I decided to change majors completely with the help of a few people telling me about speech-language pathology. Not knowing what job you will get shouldn't stop you from pursuing that major you love.

I have a lot of friends in college that loved art, for example. They majored in art, but often got questioned: "So what are you going to do with that?" My friends would panic when they were asked this question, because they didn't know. But guess what: you don't always have to have it figured out all the time. If you are pursing something you are passionate about and enjoy learning about the content, then keep on! Don't let the opinion of others stop you from doing what you love.  It's your life, not theirs.  No one wants to be in a major or career they don't enjoy.

So yes, deciding what career you want to pursue can be scary and confusing. You can go into college thinking you would like to be a teacher, and then change to music. And that's ok! It's important to know what you are interested in and what you enjoying learning about. Once you have that part figured out, the rest will make its way.