Most of us students go through a similar feeling of uncertainty about our studies and career. Some days we are very optimistic, while on others, we’re just down, full of insecurities and apprehensions.

I also felt like everyone else already had a plan — the friend who knows what she wants to study, another who has already started a small business or the classmate who somehow balances ten things at once and still seems full of energy. And then there’s me — confused, tired and uncertain.

Our expressions depict what we go through and one day, seeing my confused expression, my recreational teacher asked me the reason. I told her about my confused and uncertain state of mind regarding my present and future.

She smiled and said, “Maybe not knowing isn’t such a bad thing. Maybe it’s part of the process. Your problem is that you want everything to be clear and mapped out right away, but not everything can go the way we want. In most cases, whether studies or your career, you just have to give time to things to take place on their own. There is no hurry.”

This changed me for good. I trust that when teachers tell you something, it really matters. But then we’re taught since childhood to have everything figured out. When asked, “What do you want to become when you grow up?” — we had to give a clear answer. As if saying “doctor” at age ten will mean that’s who you’ll become!

Interestingly, yes kids, even I thought that way. I thought of being a doctor looking after the sick for almost all my primary and secondary school years. But then came a time when I felt more interested in literature and later, my interests shifted to art and art. So what I understood is that life doesn’t really work in the way you plan out a path. Because we grow, we change and our dreams stretch or shrink depending on what we experience and feel.

What we planned earlier doesn’t mean we’ll be following it in the months or years to come, because it keeps changing — and therefore, it’s uncertain. But we fret. Yes, uncertainty makes us uncomfortable because it asks us to trust without guarantees — to keep walking even when we can’t see the full road ahead. But that’s also where the fruit lies: in the ‘not knowing’. The things you weren’t sure about, but did anyway — out of passion or curiosity.

It’s a slow and somewhat difficult process to make peace with not knowing at the beginning and it took me time too. But now I finally feel at peace. I still have plenty of questions about where my career is going, what my real skills are and what I actually love doing — but I’ve stopped looking for answers. I’ve learnt to give time to things to unfold on their own. Because as humans, we can’t control everything and that’s okay. If we already knew exactly how life would turn out, it would lose its charm. Just like stories, films and even dramas keep us hooked because we don’t know what’s going to happen next — it’s that uncertainty that makes the whole experience worthwhile.

So if you’re in that stage where everything feels unclear — and I know many of you are — where your mind is brimming with questions and you just feel exhausted, think of it as part of the process of building inner strength that can hold you in any situation.

I didn’t realise it then and no one told me either, but the truth is that even adults are still figuring life out. The difference is, they’ve just learnt to live with uncertainty — and that’s what makes them experienced and wise. They know that there are many things in life that don’t have answers immediately, so it’s better to make peace without having answers right away. So don’t pressure yourself to “get everything right” or “have an answer.” Focus on staying open to change and new possibilities. Let curiosity guide you more than fear. Because every uncertain moment carries a gift or a lesson you haven’t discovered yet.

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 25th, 2025