What do you want to be when you grow up?

Usually, I get really annoyed when people think I am much younger than I am.  I know, I know-I will appreciate this later in life.  But when I walk into an R-rated movie theater at 26 years old and I have to prove to the ticket guy that I am indeed well over 18 or when I am meeting with a prospective family at work and they ask me “so, what is your major?”- I get a little peeved.  But it’s cool because the one thing I love about looking younger is that for some reason it allows the students I work with to be able to relate to me and trust me.

I REALLY wanted to be blonde when I was 13 (Also I should point out, I could still get into the “under 10 years old discount” at Old Country Buffet at this point).

When meeting with students whether at their high school or in my office,  my goal is always to make them as comfortable as possible.  To let them know I am here to listen and answer questions, NOT to try and hard-sell them on AU.  Funny thing is that in most of my appointments, we spend 10% talking about AU and the other 90%  we talk about:

• How excited they are for college.
• How nervous they are for college.
• How they want to be a forensic scientist “like that show on TV” but then maybe also an accountant…or maybe a teacher?
• How their boyfriend is their soul mate.
• How their girlfriend is driving them nuts.
• How school is stressing them out.
• How they are afraid to disappoint their parents.
• How they can’t wait to get away from their parents.

The list goes on and on.  One time in an appointment I literally spent 45 minutes listening to a girl tell me about how upset she was that her boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend. Oy vey.  Ironically, this “sales tactic” has proven to work well for me.  I love my job, because honestly my heart really bleeds for these kids.   At the end of the day they just want somebody who will listen to them.  They want somebody to acknowledge their feelings and not just write them off because they are teenager.  They want somebody who isn’t going to pressure them. They want to fit in.  I know all of this for a fact because this is exactly how I felt at that age.  Totally and utterly lost.

Junior year, the year of puberty.  UGH

Do you remember how awful the ages of 13-18 were? This was about the time I was hitting puberty and could not have been more uncomfortable with this new body that showed up overnight.  I struggled with how to deal with my emotions and felt incredibly alone.  I thought getting braces was the equivalent to the world ending.  To top it all off,  everybody and their mother was asking me what I wanted to do with my life and I could not have been more clueless…BECAUSE I WAS 17 YEARS OLD.

How many times did you change your answer to “what do you want to be when you grow up”?  For a while I wanted to be an author because I loved to read and write, then I wanted to be a Paleontologist only because it made me sound smart, then I wanted to be a veterinarian since I loved animals.  By the time I got to college, I picked the major Exercise Science because at that point I was really into being healthy and working out.  Fast forward almost 10 years later and I am a College Admission Counselor, personal trainer on the side and lover of life.  Not too shabby.

I know many people who are well over 17 and still are not entirely sure what they want to do with their life, that’s okay.  Our interests, dreams, goals are constantly changing.  Just because you majored in something in college, doesn’t necessarily mean you have to run with it.  Just because you are in a job now that you loved at one point doesn’t mean you can’t completely change career paths into something you love more.  The point I drive home with every single one of my students is this:  It’s okay if you are not sure what you want out of life right now but whenever you reach a fork in the road, just follow your heart, follow your gut, follow what feels right.  It might not make sense at the time and you might be scared, but press on.  It will all come together in the end.