Senior year.
Senior year, the big year when people start asking you that burning question: what are you doing after graduation?
Some people have had their plan figured out since they were 6 years old. They're going to med school or law school or teaching or whatever their passion is.
Other people sit on it awhile, not a clue in the world about what they want to do, and then suddenly, yes. They've got it.
My ideas always come somewhere in the middle of that. I never had my mind made up when I was little, but instead changed my career choice several times. To lead into my main thought for this blog post, I've decided to share a little essay I had to write this summer about myself:
When I was in second grade, I started keeping a journal.
Mostly I kept one because my teacher made me. She wanted the whole class to document our second grade experience, and second grade Rachel adored her teacher and loved pleasing people. So I wrote in that journal diligently and decided I was going to be a teacher. When I grow up, second grade Rachel decided, I’m going to inspire other little children to love learning, too.
In middle school, on top of continuing my journal, I began devouring books—adventures in faraway lands occupied my daydreams and victories and defeats from history and fantasy alike became my own joy and sadness. This passion for reading struck a deep, creative chord inside of me—I could write like that too, I told myself, I’m going to become a writer and people everywhere will read my exciting stories.
When I entered high school, I had less time for my own personal reading because of my extracurricular activities, my first job, and school assignments. I decided this was okay, however, when I had to read Romeo and Juliet for class and fell straightaway in love with Shakespeare’s beautiful and witty words. I absorbed more classics—Dostoyevsky and Dickens became my exotic companions. Jane Austen and Harper Lee were my best friends. I read and I studied and I researched. I want to be a Renaissance-women, I pondered. I want to go to school the rest of my life and learn everything.
In college, this love for classics turned into a zeal for
world affairs and meeting people of all walks of life. I began pursuing any
experience that would get me closer to these passions. I studied abroad in Greece for 3 months,
travelling to Israel, Egypt, and Italy while overseas. I worked as a counselor at a Girl Scout camp for two summers. I declared my major to be Public Relations with a minor in Electronic
Media Production. I interned in Colorado for a summer, making friends all around the United States and the world. I started keeping a blog of all my adventures, my thoughts,
my encounters with life.
So who am I?
I’m a storyteller.
My dream is to help share other people’s stories. I want to
combine all my life loves—teaching and reading and writing—and ultimately
become a communicator for a global non-profit organization.
(Here's where my post graduation thoughts come in)
After graduation next May, I want to join a program called China Now for a year where American graduates teach conversational English to Chinese university students. I’ve learned that being overseas challenges, strengthens, teaches, and inspires a person in a unique way and I can’t wait for that experience again.
Fitzgerald summed my life up when he said, “I’m not sure what I'll do, but—well, I want to go places and see people. I want my mind to grow. I want to live where things happen on a big scale.”
So, it's a little farfetched. It's not what you normally expect someone to want to do after graduations (although at Harding it really isn't that out there.) It is a crazy financial and cultural commitment.
BUT. Ever since I started helping the new Chinese students here at Harding, I've felt this huge tug on my heart to do this. I started thinking about it last semester, and the idea kept growing throughout the summer. Now that's I'm back here at Harding again and seriously considering graduation options, it's something I think about.
Every. Single. Day.
We talk about culture and living abroad in my Missionary Anthropology class (so at first I was like, why am I taking this extra class I don't need? Now I'm extremely grateful.) We discuss culture shock and adapting to it, the commitment it takes, and most importantly, the openness and flexibility you need to have. I can do that. I believe I can do it and make a difference.
Recently for my Media Ethics class I had to read the book Love Does by Bob Goff. If you haven't read it, drop everything and do it now. Goff writes in a quirky and masterful voice and tells remarkable stories from
his life that he relates back to following Jesus. He invites his readers to
embrace a life of living and loving to the fullest.
My favorite thing about Love Does isn’t only his entertaining
stories and deep lessons he’s learned from them, it’s his entire message wrapped up in the epilogue. At the end
of the book he challenges his readers who are looking for their next step:
“Choose something that already lights you up…pick something you feel like you
were made to do and then do lots of that…Heaven’s been leaning over the rails
in the same way ever since you got here, waiting to see what you’ll do with
your life."
I loved these words, not just
because I am a whimsical, spontaneous person and these dreamy words spoke to
me, but also because Bob dares people to do what most other devotional book
don’t say. We’re scared to take risks and make big leaps and dream big
sometimes: Bob wants us to throw ourselves out there, say yes to things, and
see what happens. As a college senior about to graduate in a year, I’ve never
been more excited to embrace that unknown.
At our ChiO spiritual retreat this weekend, we talked a lot about how you shouldn't be fearful of the future, and how instead of waiting for something to happen, you just gotta go and do something. God's there, he's always there, and he's fightin for you and never gonna stop, but you have to do your part too.
And I absolutely love that.
So I'm not sure right now what's going to happen after graduation. My heart is set on China, but that doesn't mean doors won't open or close to some other way. So it could be China, or it could be Colorado. It might be back in Texas, or even on the stinkin moon. I have no idea yet. I'll keep you updated.
So there's your daily dose of Rachel's ramblings, and that's about all I got for now.
