It's the last year of high school and graduation is just around the corner. Perhaps the stress begins to increase as important decisions must be made for the future. What to do after? Work or study? If I decide to work, what would I like to do? If, instead, I decide to continue studying, which is what I am going to study, I am going to stay in my city or I will have to relocate. My friends and I have these same questions running through our heads as we prepare to wrap up the last high school chapter of our lives.

I have met people who went to work directly after graduating, others who went on to do an associate or bachelor's degree away from their families, and others who stayed in the same city to start their university studies. It is also possible to do both, work, and study. The truth is that there are many possibilities, but no formula works for everyone. Some people find it easy to choose and can focus on following a defined path to reach their goals. For others, it is much more difficult to decide, and it is simpler for them to go where the opportunities are. The important thing is to choose the most satisfactory option in the long term and to keep in mind that it is okay to have doubts at first or make mistakes. After all, this is life.

I still haven't decided, I have many things to think about, I don't want to make hasty decisions. I want to first find out what I am passionate about studying. So, the first thing I must do is know where I am and where I want to go, be clear about the goals I want to achieve and draw up a plan on how to achieve them. Although it is not a plan calculated according to days and months, it is good to have an estimate of how many years I want to achieve what things. For example, buying a car, renting an apartment, getting a dream job, etc. I must have a well-defined ideal job, know how to get there and generate a CV with solid and related experience, it is extremely important to achieve my future goals.

Finally, I must be clear about where I am in my life. While I am no longer a teenager, I am also not a very experienced adult. So, at this point it is necessary to visualize myself as a young person, who will have many ideas, some good and others not so good, willing to work and face in a creative and methodical way all the obstacles that are presented to me to grow professionally.

The best thing is that at this moment I have the unconditional support of my family, I know that they will support me in my decisions, and that they will tell me if I am taking the right path, or the longest path. They have already gone through it, I know that any advice they give me is thinking of my own good, although I may not like what they tell me.

It is very important that I do not let myself be influenced by anyone. I know that people with the best intentions will approach me, people who really love me, and they will give me their opinion, they will tell me what the best is, they will tell me about the best paid careers, the trendiest of the moment, what is supposed to be the career of the future. But before choosing something that will mark a before and after in my life, I must stop and visualize myself in the future, if I see myself happy, doing a certain job, then that will be the way, otherwise I will have to keep looking.

We all have role models, heroes, and examples to follow, but we should not seek to be them. The world of social networks pushes us to constantly compare ourselves and the only focus that allows us to improve being happy is to compare ourselves with who we were yesterday. How can I be better today than I was yesterday, what can I learn, how can I reflect on my mistakes. I can't be afraid to reach out to people who can help me, or who to talk to if I fear I've made the wrong decision. Finding purpose is also about being true to myself and not “hiding” my mistakes to appear infallible. I know that the power is in my hands, and I feel ready to start this new stage of my life.