Young Ones, It’s Good to Have Goals, But You Don’t Need To Have it All Mapped Out

Careers rarely follow a perfectly straight line. When we are young, there is so much pressure to decide exactly what we want to do for the rest of our lives, as if one decision at eighteen years old is supposed to determine our entire future. The truth is, most people’s paths change many times along the way, and that is completely okay.

I originally earned my associate degree in horticulture and spent four years working in the green industry. At the time, I fully expected that to be my long-term career path. I still consider myself a bit of a plant nerd today, so it definitely suited me well.

Then life took an unexpected turn.

After joining the Navy, I was assigned the rate of IT despite knowing very little about computers or technology at the time. It was completely outside my comfort zone, but it taught me how to adapt, learn quickly, and be open to opportunities I never would have planned for myself.

That same mindset eventually carried over into my current career in bookkeeping and finance. On paper, horticulture, IT, and bookkeeping probably do not seem connected at all, but every experience taught me something valuable that carried into the next season of life.

Looking back, I never would have guessed that someone who studied horticulture would later work in IT environments, serve in the Navy, and eventually build a career in bookkeeping and finance. Life changes, interests change, and sometimes entirely new opportunities appear when we least expect them. Young people should not feel discouraged if they do not have every detail of their future figured out yet. Very few people actually do, and many successful careers are built one unexpected turn at a time.