“Where do you see yourself in 10 years?”
During the summer before high school, I thought I had my next several years planned out. Earn a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies, earn a master’s degree that focuses more on the New Testament, earn a doctorate that focuses even more on the Greek text of the New Testament and become a professor. During all that, I was planning on teaching Greek or Hebrew at private Christian schools to pay for my degrees. I even had an idea of where I wanted to be and the first middle/high school I would apply to teach at.
I thought I knew God’s plan for my life, but then I showed up to Union, and He turned my world—mainly my expectations and desires—upside down.
Now, I’m a double major who leans more towards being a part-time teacher after college, so I can also write and do photography as a side gig. I have no idea where I’ll be in two years, much less 10. I don’t even know if I want to get a master’s degree anymore. In fact, it’s crossed my mind that I could just completely switch to journalism and drop biblical studies to a minor.
Obviously, things have changed. Many of us go through this when we get to college. We find new things we love, change our majors, throw plans out the window and end up somewhere completely different from where we thought we would be.
For Mary Hardy, sophomore film and theater double major, this came as an overall realization for more than one specific event.
“Everything is more fleeting than I ever possibly imagined—except Jesus, obviously.”
These changes and realizations are stressful and nerve-wracking because we see our plans slipping away. What we once knew with some certainty is gone, and we are thrown into a sea of the unknown. Truly though, we were always in the sea of unknown. We often just don’t realize it until places, people and dreams change.
Some of us make friends and connections we never thought we’d make. For me, this is very obvious. I don’t like parties, loud music or crowds, so I was sure I wouldn’t fit in with anyone in Greek life. If you know me at all or even just see my Instagram account, you know how wrong that assumption turned out to be.
I’m not the only one who was surprised by Greek life at Union.
“I never saw myself going Greek, but here we are,” Cooper Champine, sophomore mechanical engineering major said. “I was encouraged to rush, even if it was just for the people and food, so I did, purely with those intentions. The stigma around fraternities was what originally made me hesitant, but they are truly different at Union University.”
These changes and surprises allow us to accomplish goals and experience things we never thought we’d experience. If I had been right about not being friends with anyone in Greek life, I would’ve missed out on many of my favorite memories from my time at Union. If I’d never explored journalism, I wouldn’t have found another thing I love doing.
Brittney Peirson, junior accounting major, didn’t play volleyball before coming to Union, but this year, she got involved in the volleyball club. Despite it making her even busier, she enjoys this hobby because of the connections and memories she’s been able to make.
The sea of the unknown is a dangerous place. It’s scary to realize that it’s where we constantly live, but it’s beautiful to see the possibilities that are born in the unknown. We can find joy, hope and adventure when we travel step by step, day by day in this changing world.
College is a time of growth for us all. Some of us arrive at our dorms with set goals, dreams and assumptions. We have formed our perceptions of the world from our homes, friends and media. All of a sudden, our perceptions begin to change when we start to experience more of the world, when we step more fully into the unknown. Hopefully, we realize that a specific career or degree isn’t what’s important in life. Instead, we make lifelong connections with God, people and hobbies that allow us to enjoy life, wherever that may lead us.
So, where will any of us be in 10 years? We may have hopes now, but our dreams can change in a moment. As for me, I see myself in no place specific and with no specific job or degrees. I see myself living a life of joy because I learned to capitalize on the precious moments, to cherish the memories and to enjoy the journey no matter what the destination is.
