Congratulations class of 2019, we’ve finally made it. Graduation season is upon us which means it’s the time for senior photos, our last few college nights at the Wal and deciding what you want to do after you graduate. If you have a clean cut plan of what you want to do after you get your diploma – congratulations, you’re part of the lucky few. If you don’t have any clue what you want to do after graduation, that’s fine too.

We’ve just dedicated the majority of the past four years of our lives slaving away trying to finish a degree while also trying to have as much fun as we can fit into our undergraduate career. We’ve changed majors, changed relationship statuses and changed the way we think about ourselves. College is a period of time used to transition to the “real world” and with any transition period, the goal is to have an idea of what comes next.

But we’re also 21 and 22 years old, we’re just beginning our post-graduate lives. It seems a little ridiculous to have every inch of your life planned out especially when we’re just beginning our professional careers. We need time to figure our lives out, who we want to be as adults and how we want to pursue what we want in life.

Everyone has that one friend who has so much forethought and direction, they know exactly what is happening the moment after they shake Marc Johnson’s hand. If you don’t have a friend like this, you are the friend that is like this. You should be proud to know your next steps and be decisive enough to know what you want out of life. It takes another level of determination to figure everything out before you graduate. But if you still stress cry yourself to sleep at night because of the creeping thoughts that get into your head, that’s okay too.

If you’re the type of person who has no idea what they’re doing after graduation and would rather just wing it, that’s completely okay. We were taught english and math, we weren’t taught how to buy a house or refinance a loan. You build more adult skills the longer you are in college, but that doesn’t mean you know what you want to do for the next 50 years or where you want to live. Sometimes it’s easier to go with the flow and figure out your life as things come your way.

After working your tail off for four, maybe five years, it’s okay to take a breather and not have your next steps planned out. But this is different than when you graduated high school.

After graduation, we have a little more maturity and life experience under your belt. You’ve spent the past four years really exploring what’s going to make you happy and what you need out of life. And that’s a good thing. We got to experience collegiate life and were probably faced with multiple hard decisions. We grew a little bit more with every single hard choice and it’s made us stronger and better. Everyone will find their own way in their own time. There’s no reason to stress about the future and there’s no reason to judge others who haven’t figured out what they want yet. Enjoy the time you have left here, and worry about the future when you get there.

Opinions expressed in The Nevada Sagebrush are solely those of the author and do not necessarily express the views of The Sagebrush or its staff. Jacey Gonzalez is a student at the University of Nevada and studies journalism. She can be reached at jaceygonzalez@sagebrush.unr.ed and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.