"If You're Bored and You're Listless, You Just Need to get yourself an Enemy"

I read an old NY Times article by Rick Perlstein a while ago in my Advanced Comp. English class where he essentially scorned modern college students for being too marginalized, too mainstream, and an army of "Organization Kids." I wrote a semi-witty response and felt moderately self-righteous, but the truth is I think Perlstein might be on to something (in case you're curious, here is the link to the old article: http://www.nytimes.com/marketing/collegeessay/essay.html ).

I still stand by what I wrote, but I do believe that many modern college students have been unfairly submerged into this way of thinking that forces them to base their actions on what they are supposed to do as opposed to what they want to do. I am a self-proclaimed "organization kid" and I am currently bugging out bc I can't decide which planned course of action to take in my life. I am deciding between internships, jobs, and even residences because I followed the norms of a student my age, overshot, and now have to choose. Unfortunately, it goes against my very nature to reject something that is good for my future or professional image, so I calculate just how I can do it all. I'm toying with the idea of interning at one place at home and working part-time, then going to Philly for a while and writing for a paper there, and then going to school early to prepare for all the new extra-curriculars I have responsibilities in. It sounds like I'm complaining, or bragging, or anything else in between, but I'm not; I'm organizing.

The point is, I'm not happy unless I have a plan and since I haven't yet decided what I'm specifically doing to be productive this summer (and have spent a whole day watching Tool Academy) I am ill at ease. I have been taught by this warped world that direction is my friend and an essential tool to success, and without it I feel lost. I'd even say minor-mid-life-crisis-lost, and I won't be truly at ease until I'm settled. I know that in the grand scheme of things this is completely unnecessary, but this is who I am. I have to stress and I have to plan. It's sick.