In my hometown, my high school was a little different from the rest of the city because it was smack in the middle of the university campus and about five minutes away from the hospital (which is also a teaching hospital, so it's a big one). What that meant is that every other kid's parent was a doctor, a professor, a nurse, an engineer ... the expectation was that the majority of us were going to university. The school barely even informed us about the other routes we could take -- college, apprenticeships, straight to work, etc. I was one of those kids who was bound for university from birth. Both my parents have degrees -- one works at the hospital and one at the university. I was basically raised in an environment where university just happens -- my parents don't care what their kids do as long as we get a degree in something. They don't see any alternative routes and we weren't really introduced to any other options.

I have no idea if I am academically inclined because it's what I choose to do, or if it's because I don't know what ELSE to do. I sort of wish I'd taken some time to grow and explore and figure out what I really wanted without all of those "should"s hanging over me. I'm in my third year of university now, getting a degree that, at best, I'm indifferent to, and unable to do anything about it to get on the track I really want until I graduate. Following all those "shoulds" has trapped me for four years of my life, and once I get out, I'm never listening to them again! The biggest lesson I'm going to take away from my university experience is that I'm not an academic. I get no joy from sitting in a classroom or writing essay after essay, and I should have been in a more artistic program pursuing my true passion all along.

Anyway, all of this is to say that just because you go to university doesn't mean you're guaranteed to be happy or even come out the other side knowing anything more about what you want than when you went in. You don't have to know anything right now; there's no time limit to figuring out what you want to do. The LAST thing you should do is jump into something because you feel obligated, either by your family or society. It's like that old saying, "Just because everybody else is jumping off a bridge doesn't mean you have to do it too."