“Why am I here?”

That is a question that many of you may be asking yourself as you go through your daily routine. What prompted you to come to college in the first place? Usually, when we graduate from high school, our next step will be college, but when we get here many of us are not sure of what career path we will take or even what we want to do for the rest of our lives.

I think that it happens to us all from time to time, starting from when we are very little kids.  First we want to be a doctor, lawyer, policeman, cowboy, nurse, EMT, medical assistant, veterinarian, the list goes on and on.  In order for us to make a good decision about what we want to be when we finally grow up, we have to ask ourselves “why are we here?”

The sooner we start thinking about the “why” the sooner we will figure out the “what.” Instead of just earning that degree, we want to be sure that we can get a good job once we graduate.  College is expensive, and we have to start paying that money back in six short months after we graduate.

Not understanding the “what” can make life complicated and difficult. Think about how much money you want to earn, what kind of position or job that you would find most interesting as well as one that you would really enjoy, then start setting your goals towards getting the “what.”

Once you decide what you would like to do start researching that job and find out what it will take to get you there, plan ahead so that you will ready when you graduate to go after what you want. Knowing which path that you are going to go down makes life so much easier, and now that you understand the “why” you will soon find your way to the “what.”

Cindy Huff is a graduate student in the aging studies program. She can be reached at 581-2812 or clhuff2@eiu.edu.