My Next Adventure

No Plan is My Plan!

I am currently graduating with my Forest Ecology degree with absolutely no idea where I’m going next. I have been applying to jobs, but because of a number of ongoing hurdles, I have not landed anything yet. So the world is my oyster? ( insert stressful laugh here) On the brighter side of things, I did get accepted into graduate school (Woohoo!). I am continuing my education at Utah State University by going into the Master’s of Natural Resources, and all of my classes are online. So while I have a structured plan, I actually have no idea what’s going on. 

Many most likely think of a pilgrimage as a grand, physical journey to a holy land, but my next chapter is shaping up to be a more internal and immediate kind of quest. I have my destination—the Master’s of NR program —but the actual pilgrimage is the time between now and then, the unforgiving and wandering path of finding where I will be next and what kind of work I will be doing. 

All of these “ongoing hurdles” I’ve been trying to overcome have turned out to be my own pilgrimage trails. They are the stretches of uncertainty and rough terrain on my personalized map. My own journey is full of trials but honestly, it has all been worth it. I have found out things about myself I never would have, traveled to places I would have never seen, and met some of the most important parts of my life.; 

I think the most ironic part of my path and quest is that I have had a structured, detailed plan my whole time at USU until now. I now don’t know where I’ll be living in 30 days, what kind of work I’ll find, or who I’ll meet next.  My stomach is full of butterflies, but in a good way! I know the Universe will guide me in whatever way I need to go and I know it. I’ve recently read, “The Alchemist” and the storyline of that book has made me realize how important it is to trust the process of my pilgrimage and find my own “Personal Legend.”