During high school, I thought I had everything figured out. I was the perpetual planner and worrier. I would go to this college, I would graduate with this degree, I would get this job in this city and live in this building and of course, I had my car picked out. Little did I know how much all of this would change.

The summer going into college, I realized I didn’t like my plan. I didn’t want to go to the University of Illinois. I didn’t want to be a surgeon anymore. I didn’t want to suffer through pre-med, medical school, residency, fellowship and so on.

I suddenly had no idea what I wanted to do. And it scared me. I was direction-less. I didn’t like where I was going to college, and I was totally unprepared. All I knew was that I wanted to be at Northwestern.

I was miserable throughout my freshman year. I didn’t want to be here, yet I wanted to do something about it and do something different than other freshmen. Perhaps this was what fueled my desire to get away from this dark place. I always wanted to travel the world, so I looked to studying abroad, by far my biggest risk yet. Thankfully, the University offers short-term study abroad courses during the breaks, which are amazing programs for students not interested in studying abroad for a full semester or year.

Not having been out of the country before, I chose to study abroad in Paris, a relatively safe place compared to the other options, yet a true cosmopolitan city. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I dove in with an open mind.

It was here where I really started to understand the global impact a business could have. It was here where I saw how people of different cultures and ideas could live in harmony and not despise each other for their beliefs. Studying abroad inspired me to pursue business as a path to opening up an endless amount of doors and to contributing to the global community.

Walking down The Avenue des Champs-Elysees felt like I was walking down Michigan Avenue, worlds apart yet brought together by globalization of business and culture. Global businesses enable consumers to participate and engage with each other in new ways, spark innovation at new levels and promote a shared language across cultures. And I want to be a part of this.

As a business student, I have always heard stories of people spending 20 to 30 years at one company and retiring there. Two weeks ago, in one of my accountancy courses, I had a group presentation of a case study on Lincoln Electric, where it was abnormal if an employee didn’t start and retire there.

People of all ages see this as the ideal life, where you work a nine-to-five with nice benefits, get married, have two children, move every seven years and retire at the same company you started with. It’s the perfect story for the baby boomer generation, and it’s what they expect of our generation.

This sounds like a boring, unfulfilled and dreadful life.

However, I don’t think that antiquated life is what we want anymore. It’s certainly not what I want, and recognizing this is a big step, maybe even a little unconventional.

But, because of my experiences, I now see college as an opportunity to explore my interests, to find new friends and to figure my life out. It is a time to take risks and to find my passion.

You should not waste your time and money at college, especially if you don’t need it. It is not a time to follow your parents’ dreams or to be afraid to follow your own dreams. You have an opportunity to explore the unfamiliar and to put yourself in new situations.

If you do find your perfect career, follow it. It’s by far more important to be happy with what you do. Though, it is equally important not to be afraid to do the unexpected or afraid to do something for you and not for the expectations of others.

At the end of my senior year, I still have no idea what I want to do. But I love that. I don’t think I will ever be able to settle on doing just one thing; there’s just too much to do.

You see, no matter how much you plan, prep and think you have everything figured out, the universe will look at you and laugh, hysterically. It doesn’t care what you want, but you can still find your passion and make use of the time that is given to you. Now is the right time.

Tommy is a senior in Business. He can be reached at [email protected].