It all began in first grade when my teacher asked me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” 

At first, it seemed like an innocent question, one that my friends and I playfully tossed around. Like a puppy, it followed me around naively as I grew up, but as I entered high school, I noticed it had grown into a full-grown dog. And instead of passively following me around, it seemed to be hounding me.  

As I grew up, more people started pressuring me, relentlessly providing me with information on the best routes to take in high school. In reality, though, all I really wanted was to enjoy the bliss of the last few years of my childhood. I was constantly told I needed to find a career and take as many classes as I could to get one. Meanwhile, the pressure continued to build, leading to stress and the constant fear that I would ‘mess something up’ for my future. 

In every class, that same fear seemed to hold a megaphone over all my anxieties, making small setbacks feel like the end of the world. Single mistakes started to seem permanent. The future became less of something to look forward to and more of something to survive.

The sad truth is that every high schooler has felt this way. Quantitatively, a Pew Research Center study shows that 68% of teens feel pressured to achieve top grades to reach their dream careers. From here, it doesn’t stop. Many students not only feel pressure to achieve high grades to help fulfill their career goals, but also feel pressure from parents, teachers, and friends to have their lives figured out. 

As teenagers, we’re expected to make decisions that sound like they’ll define the rest of our lives. Four short years, yet you’re supposed to have it all together, with everything in place for the years to come. We’re constantly reminded that our actions have consequences, and somewhere inside that message is an expectation: you should already have it all figured out.

I don’t have a perfect response to the question of your future. What I do know is this: there are always second chances. It might feel like you only get one shot—one class, one test, one application, one opportunity—but that isn’t true. If you keep working, if you stay open, if you don’t give up after one “no,” another chance usually shows up. Sometimes it shows up in a different form than you expected, but it’s still a chance.

Put simply, it’s okay not to have everything figured out yet. Many adults, even in their 40s and 50s, are still figuring things out themselves. It’s okay to adjust your plans and consider different goals. Just because you say you want to do something right now doesn’t mean you have to do it later. 

Life is not static; it’s dynamic, and there is nothing wrong with change. A quote that puts this beautifully said by Steave Maraboli is, “How would your life be different if you stopped worrying about things you can’t control and started focusing on the things you can. Let today be the day you free yourself from fruitless worry, seize the day, and take effective action on things you can change.” 

The fear of figuring out your life should not hang over you as you move through your high school career. Always remember that it’s ok not to have your whole life figured out. Live your life, and you will figure out what works for you and doesn’t. Don’t live your life in fear of not figuring out something; rather, go figure out your life.