When I was a senior in high school, my life was like the song “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades” by Timbuk3.

I got accepted into my dream school, I knew exactly what I wanted to major in and I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

I had dreams and goals and I knew how to achieve them.

Fast forward to now. I’m a senior in college about to get a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and apparently someone forgot to change the spotlight that was illuminating my future because I can’t see it anymore, shades or no shades.

I’m suffering from the new senioritis, a condition so perplexing and horrifying that it strikes fear into the hearts of college students everywhere.

I’m now unsure of what I want with my life.

See, it was so easy in high school. I took a college prep class called AVID from seventh grade to my junior year. The entire point of the class is to prepare you for college by hounding you to pick a major as soon as possible and trying to train you in the art of organization.

I’m not kidding, I had chosen my major and prospective career path before I was a sophomore.

On top of that, everything was college-oriented: exit exams, A-G requirement sheets for classes and the ever-present reminders that “this organization looks great on a college application.”

But now that I’m almost finished with college, I have no idea what to do next.

Writing has always been my passion, hence why this is the third semester you’ve seen me in the black and white spread of “The Orion.” And honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever love anything as much as I love writing.

So why are there even any doubts in my mind about my future?

Well, I originally planned on never going into a master’s program. Nope, only the bachelor’s degree for me, thank you.

Then I was advised to go through a Master of Fine Arts program to really hone my craft before attempting to get published.

Since Chico State doesn’t offer MFA programs for English or creative writing and MFA programs are apparently more competitive than pageants, it was recommended that I go through the Master of English program here first.

So instead of going through one master’s program, I’d have to go through two.

Regardless of the decades of potential schooling that I’m staring down, there should be no question as to what my future holds, right? I mean, if I love writing so much and am passionate about it, then why am I hesitating to apply to the graduate program?

Enter option No. 2.

When I was finishing up my General Education, I opted for an ethics, justice and policy pathway minor which opened up my eyes to the wonderful world of law.

Combine that with a passion for patient advocacy and I’m now facing down the decision of whether I want to say “screw it” to the two master’s programs and just go to law school. And truthfully, I feel completely unprepared to make this choice.

Chico State, can I get some life-after-college prep classes, please?

Megan Mann can be reached at [email protected] or @meganisthemann on Twitter.