Dear GPS- Where the Hell is my Life Headed?!

I depend on my GPS more than many other things in my life.  I crave that direction, that satisfaction in knowing that even if I tread down the wrong path or get lost I can depend on it as an escape route.  I did not trust MapQuest for the life of me, and although my dad swears he’s a human atlas, his impatient attitude is not one I want to screw around with while trying to maneuver downtown Boston.  I need security in knowing that all my navigational mistakes will be solved by this technological voice creeping from beyond my Tom Tom device.

I only wish my beloved GPS could steer me in the right direction when it comes to other facets of my life.  Why hasn’t the relationship GPS been invented? Where’s the Tom Tom career navigator when I need one?
I try my hardest to believe in that phrase “it’s more about the journey not the destination”, but what if the end product is absolute crap? That you followed a path that ultimately led nowhere and you’re none the better for it.  I want to believe that my endeavors now will someday culminate to something of matter.  That I’m not wasting my time wandering down a dead end street, without any indication of where to turn next.

I graduate from college in a month.  Aside from my absolute exuberance about forever leaving behind the world of homework, early morning classes after thirsty Thursday and more importantly the ridiculous expenses of higher education (i.e. $600 a semester on books I never even end up opening), I can’t help but feel an impending sense of doom.  I’ll be chucked into a dire economy, frantically scavenging jobs, when so little options are available.  What do I do? Should I move? Was my major really the field I want to get into? What if I just wasted 4 years of school, and it turns out I’m NOT a good journalist? DID I EVEN LEARN ANYTHING IN COLLEGE?! What the HELL am I gona do?!

Now would be a good time for that life-directing GPS (or possibly a prescription for Valium).  I need to just punch in where I’m starting from- Bachelors in Journalism, and type in my desired end address.  How about 1500 Success Lane in Amazing Salary? Can I go there?  GPS, tell me what turn to take so I end up with a rewarding and high-paying writing job at any magazine, one where I’m happy and actually wake up in the morning wanting to get to work.  And don’t factor in the speed limit or detours, just get me there as quickly as possible, gas costs a lot of money and I’ve got student loans to pay now, remember?

I know that it’s going to be difficult to navigate these life altering decisions on my own.  It’s easy to think of the end product and not of the shitty jobs I may have to endure along the way to get where I want to be.  I may get lost, frustrated and utterly confused about where I’m going, but I hope it’ll just make me appreciate what I end up with even more.