Point: Consider Your Future

The last day of one of my classes last year turned into a life discussion. Our professor, a kook with John Lennon hair and a genuine concern for our wellbeing, posed a question: where will you be in five years?

"Law school." "Med school." "In Europe." Three of my six classmates blurted out, confidently. Another timidly offered "I hope I have a job," giving a weak smile.

And then one girl cleared her throat: "Well, I'll have graduated and be in my last year of law school. I'll have a great job lined up, definitely in New York, probably at Watchell and -"

"And in ten years?" My professor asked, half poking fun and half trying to stump her.

"I'll be married and pregnant with my first child." She was unbreakable.

I sat, astonished, and hoped my face didn't convey the thought in my mind: "You scare me."

I was floored not that she had a plan, but that she was so serious about it. She spoke like it was as concrete as the Rosetta Stone, unchangeable. What if she found that she did not like law? Or that the roaches in New York scared her away? Or that she suddenly stumbled upon a hidden interest in a completely different field?

Many students put themselves on a track in school not just to a vague yet desirable place called "Success," but also to a specific place, perhaps called "Goldman Sachs." These students, who are my friends and classmates, are quite commendable; you see them working hard in classes, practicing for interviews and tailoring their resumes.

As admirable as these goals are, I simply hope that my classmate and those in her situation will end up liking each part of their journey to their goal. I know that her road will be a bumpy one, but I hope that she will at least say at each flagstone "I am glad that I chose this road," and not "What the heck did I do to myself?"

One way to guard against imprisoning yourself on a track that you do not like is by testing out many waters before choosing an ocean. Summer internships can act as these exact guinea pigs. It's actually beautiful when you think about it: When else will you have multiple three month stretches where you can try out new jobs and new cities with hardly any strings attached? Having internships in the summer during college is the one of the top ways to help you form your vision for your own future.

Students often worry about committing to an internship for the summer because they are often unpaid, or offer such a small salary that they might as well be unpaid. This becomes an even stickier situation when the intern must pay for housing, food, and fun (it is the summer after all!). A third-party grant can be the beacon of light in this circumstance. If a student links the content of their internship to their course of study or the mission of the third party, he or she may be able to attain a stipend for their time in the internship. This way, a student interested in law could work in the nonprofit sector without living in a cardboard box for the summer.

Internships during the summer provide the perfect opportunity for networking, tailoring your likes and dislikes, and getting a feel for the environment that best suits you, all without the commitment that comes along with your first job out of college. We are only eighteen, twenty, maybe twenty-one years old; we should not limit ourselves but rather dip into many pools, and enjoy the uncertain journey to finding what we like, rather than committing ourselves before we can even legally drink a beer.

McCarthy is an English sophomore.