What can you picture yourself doing?
One question posed to me early in high school always stuck with me: What do you want to do with your life? With the pressure of academics and extracurriculars temporarily on pause, summer provides an opportunity to stop and think about this question. If you had the time and freedom, what would you explore? What can you picture yourself doing?
When I was in high school, the general rule of thumb that mentors shared with me was this: spend your freshman and sophomore year summers exploring and refining your interests. Then use the summer after junior year to “go deep” into whatever you’ve started to gravitate toward – whether that’s research, an internship, or even a self-directed project.
But what if you pick the “wrong” thing? What if you explore something, only to realize that you don’t actually like it? There is no perfect formula. Everyone’s path looks a little different, and it is completely okay if things don’t feel clear right away. Sometimes you only figure out what excites you by first learning what doesn’t.
That was exactly what I experienced. During my first summer, I had the opportunity to participate in two different camps: a computer science boot camp and a clinical anatomy program. At the time, I really wanted to like computer science. Growing up in the Bay Area, I was surrounded by friends and classmates developing iOS apps, designing robotics, or thinking of start-ups. I too, thought that this is what my future held. But after two weeks of coding, it just didn’t click. I appreciated the innovative thinking and product creation – but I didn’t look forward to waking up and cranking out more code. If anything, my eyes dried up staring at the black screen filled with white text, and I felt even less motivated to tackle new projects. I recall my friends during the school year excitedly brainstorming apps they could build, discussing what features would work – and realizing that I didn’t share that same excitement.
However, I found myself captivated by the clinical anatomy program. Learning how the human body worked – the intricacies of biological systems, the reasons behind how and why we function – was by far more interesting to me. I remember feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of the human body, but… curious. There was something about our biological systems that captured my attention. I knew that this was a field that I felt drawn to in a way that computer science never matched.
The following summer, I had the opportunity to work in a research lab at UCSF. I loved it so much that I returned the summer after junior year to pursue my own project with a mentor’s guidance — researching how to optimize a drug combination for melanoma treatment. Throughout the summer I witnessed tangible results – seeing how different drug combinations could attack the cancer cells better and faster. Beyond the nitty gritty details, it was exciting to know that my work could improve someone’s life and make a difference. This was different from computer science, which felt too abstract for me. Even though you could create an interface and a project, the underlying motivation was harder for me to grasp.
Looking back, those summers weren’t for figuring out what career I wanted to pursue, but they helped me narrow down my field of interest. This pattern – exploring first, then honing in on your interest – can be achieved in many different ways. Whether that means starting your own podcast, recording an EP in your garage and posting it on YouTube, launching a TikTok account where you review the newest snacks at your local grocery store, building custom keyboards and selling them online, designing and selling crochet or knitwear, or even trying to break a random world record, there is absolutely no wrong way to start. The only mistake you can make is doing nothing at all out of the fear of picking the “wrong” thing.
Whatever you choose to do, the goal is to move beyond just participating. Create something meaningful. Work alongside professionals in the field. Gain some real-world experiences that challenge and inspire you. It’s less about picking the career you’ll stick with throughout college and onwards, but more about showing commitment, initiative, interest, and an evolving sense of self.
But just as important as all of this exploration? Letting yourself rest. Summers, in the end, are still summers. They are a sacred stretch of time when you are not tied to daily academic obligations. If you can, go on that trip with your family. Visit relatives you haven’t seen in years. Sleep in a little. Spend time with friends. When I look back, one of the best decisions I made was joining my high school symphonic band trip to Spain during the summer after sophomore year. We performed in cities I may never return to – and I haven't since! You don’t need to have everything figured out by the end of a summer – or even by the end of high school. The important thing is to start somewhere, and to move towards things that intrigue you, something that captivates your attention – and trust the path will come into focus with time.
By Mentor Alice, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University.
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