There’s Always Time
By Clare
Don’t you remember when everyone would tell you that there is just so much time? Time to figure things out; time to figure out what you want to do.
“Where do you want to go to school?
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Oh, you have so much time!”
“Congratulations on Miami! Do you know what you’re studying?”
“Yes! I’m majoring in Finance.”
“Oh that’s great. But you have so much time if you want to switch.”
“What do you want to do after graduation?”
“I’m not exactly sure. I’m interested in consulting right now, but keeping an open mind!”
“Of course, you have so much time!”
Yet, so many people seem to have their whole lives figured out whether that’s knowing exactly what they’ve wanted to do since applying for college to a fantastic summer internship to starting their own business at 20 years old. Keyword: seem. Sometimes things just fall into place, but most of the time I think people are just really good at acting as if everything has fallen into place so naturally when in reality, things just aren’t there yet OR it took an incredible amount of work to get there--but no one talks about that part.
This summer, I did not find an internship, but I worked as a hostess at a restaurant and learned an incredible amount of valuable and applicable skills, and had a greater impact on the restaurant than I could have imagined when getting hired back in May. I loved learning specifics about the restaurant industry, customer service, management, and even some cooking tips! But my impact surprised me as I didn’t realize how good I would be at my job so quickly. I am a natural hard worker and told my boss that I would prove myself, and within 2 weeks I was promoted to Head Hostess and was given more responsibilities every time I stepped in the door.
In truth, I was stressed that I didn’t have a finance-related internship this summer. I felt like I was falling behind -- running out of time if you will. But the reality is that I would only be running out of time if I made it seem that way. Working at a restaurant was not the original plan, but working at this restaurant was one of the most beneficial experiences I could have had this summer. I was given immense growth opportunities, trusted with large responsibilities, learned more about the industry than I could have thought, and thoroughly enjoyed my time at work. This made me realize that I’m not running out of time at all. So what if I didn’t get an internship this summer? I still did something extraordinary productive!
I worked with a couple who found love in their 50s; I met a woman who took 5 weeks on to road trip across the country; I figured out that this job is making me more well-rounded and will absolutely benefit me in the long run for my internship and job search! I didn’t think I had time to not have an internship, but here I am with money in my bank account and incredible experience under my belt. Here are a list of other things I often claim that I don’t have time for:
Going to the gym
Folding laundry
Making dinner from scratch
Packing to head back to school (oops!)
Just because I haven’t been to the gym in a while doesn’t mean that window has passed -- I’m learning to just take things as they come and to start saying yes to things. It’s truly never too late, and despite hating hearing the words that I have so much time to figure things out, it’s the truth. I wish I knew exactly what I want to do when I grow up, but I know that being so adaptable, eager to learn, and ready to take on new challenges daily (like creating a workout plan to start tomorrow) will propel me into the role and career I will excel at. There is always time to change your plans a little bit, learn a new skill, or start that workout plan you’ve been pushing back.
