Why can't I be everything?

A 17 year old girl, struggling to decide what she wants to be.

Life offers so many opportunities that, at times, I feel overwhelmed.

There is an infinite number of paths that life presents you when you are a teenager about to choose what to do with yourself once high school finishes. And, ironically enough, most of us have no idea of what we want to do and what we want to be when we —eventually—grow up.

I am one of those teenagers, who feels entitled enough to drive a car or take up the responsibilities that the adults around him should take instead, but feels helpless when put in front of the fact that “The clock is clicking”, and has to do something about it.

To me, the problem is in the fear of making the wrong choice: misunderstanding your will and your desires (simply because you don’t have the tools to sort them all out at this age) and eventually ending up with a job you hate, regretting all the choices you have made.

Most and foremost, I am guilty of loving too many things. I am interested in everything you could think of, from Roman history to quantum physics, from Buddhism to biochemistry, from interior design to finance. For instance, whenever I took online tests about my most suitable university path, which required to answer questions about my interests, I checked every box. Yes, I want to restore the paintings of an old country church, but I would also love to research ways of curing rare diseases.

The world has so much to offer that I have realized that I have FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) for life. How am I supposed to choose only one thing for my future when life keeps showing me different ways to grow into the adult I want to become?

And, anyway, for how many possibilities there are out here, not a single one of them seems to be the right fit to nurture every part of my personality.

So…why can’t I just be everything?

I am eager to read about your opinion on this topic, and I would also love to receive some good advice for my situation.

Thank you for reading!