Is that how it feels? You know you have to find a part-time job very soon, figure out what to major in this year, identify a career interest so you have something to tell the family at Thanksgiving, do a co-op-- it all can seem more than a little overwhelming! But that is why the Center for Career Services and Cooperative Education is on campus! You are not alone...come talk to us during drop-in hours (no appointment needed) between 2pm and 4pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday or by appointment (made by calling 973.655.5194). And once you have a declared a major you have your own advisor.
But what to do in the meantime? How about getting "unstuck"? Stop worrying and start thinking about things in your life that make you happy...have made you happy over time. Sometime the very best clues for answers to all of the questions above are the simplest ones...for instance:
1. How do you distract yourself when you are very tired or have a bad cold? Is it just TV? do you read? yak on the phone? play Scrabble online? start writing your novel? Is the activity introverted or extraverted? The clues begin...
2. What things have always made you feel proud of yourself? (And it doesn't matter if anyone else was proud.) Create a list of all the "best moments" in your life. Then see if you can find a consistent theme running through those moments. Were you being creative or were you in charge of something? Were you inventing some new way of approaching a problem? Were you using your speaking ability? Have a friend look at your list or come to the Center to talk about what you have discovered.
3. What fascinated you when you were 13 - 17 that, for a variety of reasons, you no longer pay attention to. What did you want to learn about that school somehow never got to?
4. If no one else were paying attention, what would you major in? what kind of work would you like to do? What do you want to do with your "life energy"?
Come to the Center for Career Services and share what you learn about yourself!
I like present moment awareness. While some future planning is important in life, being stuck worrying about a future that hasn't even happened yet can cause unnecessary worry, anxiety and even depression.
ReplyDeleteHow can any of us live if our mind is stuck in a place that doesn't exist? The past is gone, and the future has yet to arrive. Now is the moment. MSU's very motto "Carpe Diem." While students should have a decent plan of action, we do not need to worry about where we're going to end up; if we do well, the jobs will become available and everything will fall into place. There is no need to incite fear about the future.
As students, we should be focused on our current classes and the present moment. When the time is right, we can make some plans for the future, but the plans should be flexible, taking into consideration that we have no idea what the future holds. What is most important are the experiences we are currently having. If the student does well in his or her studies, the student will have immense success when they graduate.
Present moment awareness is the key to a happy and fulfilled life and it is an important factor in being a successful student.