Young people go to college for many reasons, but most go in hope of finding themselves.
Even after graduation, some are still unsure about their calling in this chaotic world.
Fortunately for me, I knew my reason for living at the age of 4.
When I was little, I was often asked the timeless question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Smiling brightly, I'd hoist a baby doll up in the air like Simba, and chirp, "A mommy!"
Whoever asked would nod and smile about how cute I was.
Now, just 17 years later, I can no longer give a similar answer and receive a positive response.
My dream is to be a homemaker, and when people hear this, they ask, "Then why did you even go to college?"
To that, my answer is simple: everyone needs a way to support themselves if ever need be. I needed to see, after getting a taste of the workplace, if I'd have the same domestic desires.
I needed to see if this dream of mine was something I'd grow out of.
Three and a half years later, I've given academics my all. I snagged an internship at the fifth largest paper in New York this summer and was on the front page eight times. My work was distributed to more than 120,000 readers daily, but even so, I never caught the career bug that everyone else seems to possess.
After all this time, my heart is still the same.
Like any senior, I am frequently posed with questions about my future after I walk across the stage Dec. 13.
It's easy to rattle off companies I could work for in my hometown of Albany, New York, but I can never give my real answer.
When asked, "What do you want to do with your life?" an answer like "be a mother" used to be adorable, but now it's considered weird, childish and even stupid.
I quickly learned to bite my tongue after people raised their eyebrows in judgment and asked what was wrong with me.
My response to that? Absolutely nothing.
I know what I want to do with my life, but I've been made to feel like my dreams are socially unacceptable.
That is so, so wrong.
When I was in high school, peers would ridicule me for my stay at home desire.
"Hopefully you won't be a disgrace to the female gender forever," they'd jeer, or, "Just wait until you get to college. You'll change."
In just a few months, I'll graduate with a degree in journalism, and I'm eager because I'd be content as a journalist.
I could have a successful career in the field, but even so, I know it's not my passion.
My passion is to be a dedicated wife, mother and caretaker to my loved ones - and that's OK.
All our lives, we're told to go for our dreams. We're told to "shoot for the moon because if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
But if we don't have a "normal" moon to shoot for, we're made to feel like there is something wrong with us.
To the men or women out there who feel their sole purpose is to take care of their family, know this: Being a homemaker is definitely something admirable to shoot for.
Sure, many can balance a high-powered career and a family, but I just don't want to juggle them.
I might be alone here, and that's fine with me. I just hope you won't judge others if you hear them say, "I want to stay home with my children."
It isn't lazy, and it isn't wasting your talents. If it's what you want to do, you should do it.
It's what I want more than anything, and after 21 years of thinking it over, there isn't a doubt in my mind.
After all, since when is what society says the best thing for everyone?
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