With graduation season approaching, the ever-impending question about our future awaits us. Luckily, I have another year of college before anticipating the real world. However, I cannot help but be consumed by the lives of my friends who do fortunately get to tackle new realities.
This festive season has me reminiscing about my freshman year, post-high school graduation, when I was so excited to pursue theatre in college. As classes began, I realized there was a habitual routine all professors would make us participate in: introducing ourselves and our majors.
From taking classes with 100 to 20 people over the course of four years, you watch your peers transform into the people they’ll be when they approach authentic adulthood. That means also watching them jump around majors as we continue our college careers.
Nevertheless, the options are endless, and I feel we have a responsibility to ourselves to try and indulge in as many as possible. You can change your major a million times, but ultimately, a final decision must be made.
Everyone has a passion growing up, or a pipe dream, as some would call it. Let’s discuss what the idea of a pipe dream looks like. In most cases, I’ve noticed that society calls pipe dreams any occupation with an unorthodox lifestyle.
But what makes a pipe dream? I’ve only ever known that term to be surrounded by negative connotations.
My ideal career comes to mind, for example. Ever since I was a child, I have wanted to be an Actor. Growing up in the south, you can imagine how well that ideal occupation was received.
Luckily, I was supported by my mother in every attempt at this passion. I don’t believe this lifestyle won’t happen for me. I can see, however, where other people would think it’s okay to diminish my goals based on their own ideas of a practical career.
I like to ask myself one major question. Who are you living for? We all take four years to wild out and explore possibilities.
When you walk across the stage, are you crossing into a world of limited opportunities? You might feel this way if you were pressured by external forces, ultimately doing yourself a disservice.
As we can all tell, this generation, especially, has become overwhelmed by the number of wannabe actors, creators or artists. It can be blamed on social media influence. Still, I want to acknowledge the common theme we were entertained with as children: child actors and YouTubers promoted an extravagant lifestyle.
How could we not be inspired to chase these ideas as we age? Traveling the world, making music or movies and living in luxury sounds like a dream. It fueled us all to be one of the most inspired upcoming generations.
Nevertheless, I say all this to give a little grace to myself and others my age. Graduating from college is an immense accomplishment. But remember, if you find yourself chasing something completely different in five years.
Don’t allow negative external influences to dissuade you from your true passions.
Blair Bernard is a 21-year-old theater performance major from Lafayette, La.
