‘What To Do After 12th Boards?’ Was Stressing Out My Cousin So I Said To Her…

My cousin, who is eight years younger than me, is giving her board exams this year, and I recently visited her. She was in a dilemma – what to do after 12th boards?

Before I delve into the incident I want to share, let me give a short introduction.

My cousin is very dear to me, and I was the one who taught her how to walk when she was 3-4 years old. I was sometimes given the responsibility of taking care of her. She is really smart and intelligent and always comes out on top in her class. She’s also the head girl of her school and has moderated many events. All this at such a young age of 16-17.

When I recently visited her and asked how she was doing and what she was thinking of doing after the board exams, she casually said that “I was relying on bhaiya (cousin/tuition teacher) to tell me what to do.” Then she told me that it becomes really overwhelming to know that there are so many options to choose from.

But I believe the underlying issue is that she knows she has the potential to excel in whatever field she chooses, which makes it more difficult for her to make a choice. She might be thinking, “What if I choose one thing but later, I don’t like it?” She also mentioned our parents and how they dedicated their lives to one profession. Her dad was in the army and had always been in a job, while my dad has a business and never changed his field.

I felt that she feared making a choice about her career that would stick with her for her lifetime.

No matter what you choose, here’s what I said to this dear girl

When I heard all this, I made it clear to her that we don’t have to stick to whatever choice we make in such early phases of our lives. What we need to focus on is our interests and follow them. I also told her that, unlike our parents, we live in a technologically advanced era, which forces us to change as per the times.

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It’s highly unlikely that we will live the same fate as our parents. I believe we have the chance and the choice to change our careers if we want to and we’re not forced to stick with one job for our whole life.

I also made it clear that whatever she chooses, I’ll be there to support her, and even if after some time, she thinks she made a mistake, I’ll be there to guide her. What’s more important is to have the courage to choose for oneself without anyone else’s interference. I believe if she becomes dependent and looks for another person to choose for her, then she’ll never be fully independent and will always be in a state of confusion when it comes to making decisions.

Image source: Sofia Alejandra on pexels

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