The Future

As the weather gets warmer, the days get longer, and summer gets closer and closer, we college students should be settling into rockstar internships and our biggest concern is when we can squeeze in some time to get a tan, right?

Wrong.

At least for me anyway.

For me the future is weighing heavily on my shoulders. Like a ton of bricks.
My situation is slightly different, you see I am graduating next year. A year earlier than I expected to when I came in as a freshman.

Why is that so scary you ask?

Well, I'm still sifting through my options for my post-grad career. Internship? Grad school? Job? Travel abroad? Sabbatical? (only joking.) It seems as though I have to have to make some major decisions this fall. Do I need to sign a lease for a fourth year? Do I really need to start saving money? Paying off my college loans?
Woah.

Every time I weigh each of my options, I get thoroughly overwhelmed.
So then here are my options:

1. Grad School – So this option would mean staying at OU for a fourth year and getting my masters in that fourth year. An undergraduate and graduate degree in four years sounds pretty sweet, however, every single PR professional I have spoken with has said that a graduate degree isn’t really necessary unless at some point you want to teach. Also, I have been told it is more relevant if you have some real-world experience to bring to the table.

2. Post-grad Internship – I can and probably will apply for countless post-grad internships. I have been seriously considering this because that way I will gain more PR experience without having to join the real working world just yet. I feel like it will give me some time to get more experience before I go for a real job.

3. Travel abroad – Something I have always wanted to do. I would love to go to Europe and travel for a month, but with what money would I do this? I absolutely cannot incur more debt then I will already have from college.

4. Real job – This is terrifying to me. I wonder every day if I’m ready for such a big step. Am I ready to go into the real world, start paying for everything on my own, and pay back my loans? Do I have enough experience? Am I really graduating from college at age 20?

I have been told that once I join the working world, I'll do it forever, so I really need to consider everything I want to do in life before I take any steps.

It’s comforting to know that I have options, but at the same time its scary. I have to make decisions relatively soon, and I’m still not sure what I want to do, and I’m not even really leaning in any one direction.
I will definitely be posting more on this, as it is a topic that weighs very heavily on my mind.