I recently did a video where I spoke about graduation and becoming an alumnus very soon. I talked a little bit about how I’m starting to develop my plans for the future, and thought that it might be beneficial to extend that to a full post here.
I needed a mindset change. I needed to be okay with where I was going, even if I wasn’t sure of the direction.
– Garrett Davies
I had only a very slight idea of what I wanted to do for a career before this year. For those who don’t know, I’m an International Studies major, and that can mean a lot of different things for different people. Some of my peers talk about going to law school or into politics; others are looking to join the Peace Corps and work abroad in other countries. Outside of my major, a lot of my friends are science majors who have their dream job or field set in their minds. I felt like an odd one out as I was desperately searching for what choices I wanted to make about my future.
The first step I needed to take was a mindset change. I needed to be okay with where I was going, even if I wasn’t sure of the direction. There are plenty of things I can do, and it’s totally okay if I don’t pick one now.
Secondly, I had to realize that I wasn’t alone in not knowing how my future will end up. It’s easy to focus on the people that have their stuff together and already are finding success with plans. Every person has their own path to success, and success itself can look very different for the individual.
Third, I needed help. The best part about this is that I felt very set up by the leaders I had in my life and the bosses I’ve had through my couple of internships. Not only that, but Arcadia’s career office has been extremely helpful with things like editing my resume and providing a wealth of other resources. If you take one thing away from this post, it’s to use all the resources you have available to you in order to make the decisions that feel right for you.
Arcadia’s esports arena.
Regardless, I needed to start figuring out a plan or two for post-graduation. Before this year, my idea was to work for an NGO—most likely in the social justice or government sector. This is still a possibility, since I’m passionate about these areas. However, when I sat down and asked myself what I enjoyed in life and experiences that I value, I leaned toward things outside of academics.
My time spent as an orientation leader and as a part of esports mean a great deal to me, and I wanted to find options to build off of these things and what I’ve learned from them. I started finding positions like coaching or team-building opportunities that excited me much more than anything I had thought about doing in the past.
This makes for a more unique or niche career path compared to my peers, but I think that it’s my path.
