Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

The Best Plan is No Plan

We both received a jarring email in our inboxes recently: A reminder from the deans’ office to begin steps for registration for Fall 2015.

After getting over the initial shock (and frankly, insult) of the reality of not being around to register for another semester of classes, we began reflecting.

We began to remember what it felt like to be a second-semester freshman or sophomore, making strategic decisions about which classes to sign up for — which professors are the easiest, which discussion section will allow for a long weekend on Fridays, which classes fit our major — all in accordance with “the plan.”

Because at those earlier stages of our college careers, we, like many Georgetown students, had a plan. Even if we didn’t know the specifics of what jobs we wanted in the future, there was at least a general roadmap for success: Pick a “smart” major, get good grades, score some lofty internships over the summer (balanced out with volunteering and study abroad, of course) and take leadership opportunities on campus.

All we needed to do was follow the steps set out for us and we would surely find success in our postgraduate lives.
But now we stand at the end of this series of steps (or at least at a major checkpoint), and we are here to report that the plan has all but fallen away. To be quite honest with you, dear readers, we are less certain of what the future holds now than we have ever been.

Something happened between freshman and senior year; while following the plan, passion started to get in the way. New interests came from unexpected places — a class that turned into a minor and a study abroad stint that turned into a deep yearning for an ex-pat life.
As we moved through life, the handrails of the plan began to fall away and we were left with decent-looking resumes, but in a mental state of utter confusion.

In some ways, this problem is a result of the plan itself; each opportunity we strategically took to increase our “success” showed us 10 more opportunities out there that we’d never considered.

Each class, each internship, each trip has shown us just how big the world is and just how many ways we can make an impact on it. And the more opportunities that are revealed to us, the harder it becomes to choose any one path. To paraphrase the philosophers/rockers, Red Hot Chili Peppers: The more we see, the less we know.

Now of course, in the scheme of things, this is a very good problem to have; we are both so grateful for the knowledge we’ve accrued over the course of our time at Georgetown and grateful to be aware of just how much is out there awaiting us.
But the stress and anxiety that arises with choosing from amongst so many possibilities is real and, at times, overwhelming.

Because now, more than ever, there is no plan — we are paving the road as we walk it, and there’s always the fear a misstep.
We remember vividly those first days of senior year — the unique churn of excitement and panic at being able to revel in what was sure to be our best year on the Hilltop, while at the same time having to figure out how we were going to leave.

But it has been difficult (if not impossible) to make a plan going forward when what we think we want changes every day. So now, at the end of senior year, we think the best plan for us is to have no plan at all — or, at the very least, let go of the need to have a plan, and disabuse ourselves of the notion that thinking three and four steps ahead will guarantee happiness.

Because really it won’t. We are realizing more and more that when we are confronted with all of these decisions and exposed to new experiences that there are so many things that have the potential to bring fulfillment into life, professionally and personally.
And after what Georgetown has exposed us to, we are convinced we don’t even know half of the possibilities out there.

 

Kendall Ciesemier and Camille Squires are seniors in the College. Eighteen Weeks appears every other Friday.

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