Getting Lost in the Rush

From a very young age my generation was taught to constantly think about the future. We are studying for SATs, taking APs, picking out colleges, and deciding our futures way before we even know who we are or what it all means. Its overwhelming. As a person hell bent on getting what I want, I personally find myself micro-managing my future to an unhappy point. Spring term is my last full term at Drexel (assuming I get in to the study abroad program I want *fingers crossed*) and I spent a lot of time on co-op planning out the next coming months. Recently, it has really started to hit me that my education will over and I will be forced to start on a brand new path. Reflecting back, I realize just how much the co-op experience taught me and opened my eyes to. Growing up, adulthood and the "real world" are these shiny and elusive things. Even in college, though I was much more aware of reality, I still found the working world so desirable. Why would I want to sit in classes and do homework when I could be off influencing companies or creating things that mattered. It really wasn't until co-op that the dreamy ideal of the working world vanished. Today so many people are miserable in their jobs. So many people are getting taken for granted no matter how hard they work. The 9-5 is not so glamorous The reality of the working world is harsh to say the least.

Now while that paragraph sounds rather negative, I find that the popping of the proverbial bubble is entirely beneficial. Without experiencing this on co-op I would be going into the working world next year searching for a very different experience than I would now. While co-op has made my idea of what I want to do change, it has also clearly defined what I do not want to do and what type of things I should look for when I do graduate.