It’s funny how we establish such strict guidelines about our lives and what we’re going to do with them. Life is so uncertain, yet, we map out every milestone in our lives and relive those fabricated moments over and over during a daydream. For me, even before I could figure out how to tie my shoes (which was an embarrassingly long time), I knew I wanted to be a vet. I didn’t even know what I would be having for lunch but somehow, I was going to be a vet. I went throughout middle school and high school, positive that I knew exactly what I would be doing with the rest of my life.

 from the day a child is born, its parents have already written a narrative for it.Parents want their little girls to wear pink bows in their hair and daydream about boys. They expect a big wedding with an even bigger white dress and of corse, Mr. Right, even if their daughters prefer Mrs. Right. They want that their little boys play with dirt bikes and toy trucks who grow up to be doctors. They expect them to live up to a picture-perfect image, crafted specifically for them. What happens when a child can’t live up to that ideal? Or maybe they don’t want to follow down a predestined path? The second week of college, I told my mom that I wanted to change my major to psychology. She told me what a great idea that was and that I should follow my dreams! She gave me love, support and told me that I should follow that passion inside of me. Even though psychology wasn’t what she had envisioned in my future, she was more than willing to let me be my own individual and write my own story. Well… that’s what I wish she would’ve done for me.

Her real stance was actually pretty unsupportive and uncaring. She told me how little money I would end up making and that she knew I wanted to be a vet. She didn’t care that I didn’t like any of my classes that pertained to that major or that maybe I didn’t have the drive to spend eight years in school, pursuing a career that, frankly, I feel out of love with. She wanted that for me and that’s the way it was going to be. Obviously, that’s not how it played out because I took it upon myself to change my major.

Changing a part of your life that’s been constant for so long can be nerve wracking. The uncertainty of change frightens almost everyone, but change is important. The future is never certain, and people are always changing, I was changing. While I don’t know exactly what I’ll do with a psychology degree, If I’ll get married and have children or where I’ll end up after college, it doesn’t matter. We work hard for what we want in life and if I continue to have drive and determination, I’ll find myself being happy and healthy, that’s the only aspect of my future that I’m truly certain of.