Lighten up Francis

I was telling my nephew last week, who after his freshman year in college has not yet firmly decided on his primary course of study, not to sweat it. Why add so much pressure to "get it right" when you're young given that life -- in and out of school -- is a path of learning?

When I was a senior in college and graduating with the presumably useless B.A. in English, I called my mom weeping. I was grappling with some serious angst about my inability to define myself when my girlfriends were going off to medical school or jobs as graphic designers and engineers. "What am I going to do with my life?" I sobbed.

Her response, "Don't worry about it. I'm 50 and I still have no idea what I want to do either."

Although it may sound dismissive, they were the most loving and accepting words I had ever heard. And they immediately took the pressure off; I didn't need to have clarity right then and there.

What I didn't realize until much later was the profound nature of my mom's statement either. That 22 years later (and probably for the rest of my life) I would still be in the process of defining myself, trying to determine what talents I have been given (!) and searching for answers regarding what's next.

Right now, I feel confident that I am exactly where I need to be. And instead of forging my way into the next experience blindly and later assessing the collateral damage, I'm waiting for divine inspiration (intervention?) to guide my way.

You never know what God has up his sleeve. I'll probably become America's Next Top Model.