Be Yourself

Pat Rose, Director of Career Services

The semester will soon be over, and many of you will be spending time over the break with family and friends. They will undoubtedly ask questions about your studies, your goals, your plans for the summer or after you complete your degree. Most if not all are genuinely interested in you. They want you to be happy and successful. They may, however, have certain expectations on what the answers to these questions should be, and how success should be defined. As you reflect on the future, and the choices you are making, ask yourself if these choices are consistent with your values, and with the person you want to be. If you feel like you are on the wrong path, it is not too late to re-assess and re-orient. The break is a good time to consider where you are heading.

I love this advice from Jon Youshaei, Col/Wh ’13, the founder of EveryVowel, the weekly cartoon: Be Yourself. As Jon so humorously shows, you will disappear if you try to be someone else.

On behalf of everyone in Career Services, good luck with finals, papers and projects. Have a safe, relaxing and restorative break, and the happiest of holidays. We look forward to working with you in 2018.

Author: Patricia Rose

Patricia Rose is the Director of Career Services at the University of Pennsylvania.