When You Want to Pursue Everything

What do you want to do when you grow up? I've been asked this countless times growing up, and honestly, I've changed my mind on who I am and who I want to be so many times, it's hard to think of a time when I knew everything I wanted. And then I realized, it's okay if you don't. You don't need to have everything figured out to move forward; I am a living example of that. Growing up, I always wanted to become a veterinarian. I came into college with all my plans to work with exotic animals abroad  for several years before and settling down and starting a small clinic back at home. Then everything changed.

We come into college being told there are countless classes, majors, and opportunities there will be, but it's not until we get there, fully immersed in the culture, that we truly understand and appreciate the vast world that stands before us. Realizing how much more was out there and how much I hadn't tried or even considered, I really didn't know what I wanted anymore. So I tried it all. I took marketing classes, geology classes, statistics classes, computer science classes, classical literature classes, south asian studies classes. I took all of them and more, and after everything was said and done I was even more confused with the path I wanted to take. But that's what college is all about.

It's about trial and error. It's about living and loving and learning. After venturing into some higher level classes of my favorite "experimental" subjects, I chose to pursue research and development. It's still in the sciences, but it's far from the Dr. Dolittle that I always thought I would be. 

Penn is certainly not only a place where you can pursue and achieve your dreams, but also a place that let's you discover them.

-Kelli L. '17