As students, you are told that you have "plenty of time to figure out where you want to go." Yes. Of course. All the time in the world...Or maybe just until the end of high school.
The truth is, you don't have much time. Not to scare anyone off, it's actually a good thing that you have a limited amount of time. Think about it. If you were to have literally all the time in the world...what if you found out your passion was different from what you've been studying for so many years? Use your summers to try out new things and see what interests you. Find out what your passion is at an early age and set your path to success. It really does help! In the end, you just mind end up in the exact place you had once predicted to be in.
I love Grey's Anatomy and anything to do with the field of medicine. My brother would always tell me medicine is nothing like the show - there's no drama involved. Then he asked one day, "Would you rather sit in a surgery room and memorize medical terms for hours or watch all the seasons of Grey's Anatomy for hours?" I am a HUGE fan of the show so it was a little devastating to choose between the two. But it was then that i realized i would actually rather be involved in a real surgery. Ever since then i oriented my classes around that field. I picked up more science courses in my schedule and volunteered in as many hospitals/senior citizen homes than ever. This is a horrible example and everyone is different, but it's true. (Of course that's not all that motivated me to go that direction)
Having limited time is probably the best way to motivate yourself. It get's you going to test out other things. I came across a point in time where i didn't know what i wanted to be. I've always wanted to be a doctor, but after being involved in activities with Law and Engineering - i was lost. I hated that feeling because the future felt like a blur and i had no expectations. I advise everyone out there to have fun during summer. Go to camps and play some sports - you may realize you'd want to get paid to do something you love. Seriously, you don't want to end up with a Master's Degree in something that you wouldn't want to do everyday. You don't want to be a 30-year-old baker in Paris and realize suddenly feel that you should be a singer in America (Again just an example haha). Make your own future. That doesn't mean know what you want to be in 8th grade...but have enough experience by a certain time to make a valid, informed decision about where you want to go so you are less likely to have any regrets.
