By seventeen, students are supposed to have a college picked out, what major they choose, and what career they will end up with. Meanwhile, I still Google “how to boil pasta” every time I cook. Parents, teachers, and other adults are always asking what we want to do with our lives. Somewhere along the way, being seventeen stopped being about learning the small things and jumped to having the rest of your life figured out. School does not make the pressure easier. There’s pressure to get perfect grades, join extracurriculars, and write the perfect college essay before finishing your senior year. Social media is a huge reason why some kids get put down. They see people their age starting good jobs, getting scholarships, and posting about their future career choices while others are just trying to make it through another week of schoolwork they were assigned. Adults often say it’s okay not to have your life completely figured out. Many of them had to change their dreams or still don’t know exactly what they want to do. However, you don’t have to have your entire life figured out by the time you turn 17. The most important thing is that you are still learning who you are, what you want to be, and where you want to end up in life. Figuring out what makes you happy and becoming the type of person you want to be is what matters the most.   You always have time to explore life and career options. It’s okay to mess up when trying new things and to change your mind. Nobody really knows what they are doing some are just better at pretending. Maybe the real goal isn’t to have life completely figured out by 17. Instead, it’s to keep learning from your mistakes, take life one day at a time, and not stress too much about the future. Don’t panic about what college you’ll go to or what job you’ll end up having.