What to do?

Dear Brad,
Being a senior is a lot of fun! But it seems like everyone already knows what they will do with their lives after we get diplomas in June! Except me. I have no idea! I sit in class and hear people say things like "Well I'll probably start out at Utah State and go into elementary education, then when my boyfriend gets home we'll get married and move to New Jersey where he'll go to law school and we'll have five kids and be successful and have a great life. Because I have a plan." or "I'm going to SUU where I can play on scholarship for a year, then I'll go on a mission, come home, marry a pretty girl, and become a physical therapist. It will be sweet!"
I have no idea what I will do! There's a lot of things I like and I don't really want to get stuck doing something I thought I liked, but actually don't like as much as I thought I did. Plus, I want to live it up right now while I'm young and beautiful and charming and all of those other things that may fade with time. Of course I want to get an education, but I also want to have fun... Is it ok to not declare a major for a while? Is there still hope for me to have a sweet life even if I don't have a 20 year plan for it?
Thanks,
Jess

Sorry Jess, you are screwed. Your life will amount to nothing if you haven't decided already. You may want to start collecting cats and I assure you that you will end up as the "Cat Lady". You will only need a one bedroom apartment as you will have no need for more. Save the money to buy toys for your cats.Yep, if you don't know by 17 or 18, you are down right screwed. You should have been thinking about your future instead of dating guys and going to dances.
Actually, the curious thing about life is that it usually doesn't end up like you plan it anyway. I changed my major 3 times. I wanted to be a teacher, Occupational Therapist, among other things. But as I grew, and had more experiences these things changed. Sure, some people know when they are a little kid what they want to be...but MOST people don't. I was out of High School 10 years before I really decided on a career.
Fortunately the beautiful and charming will take you places. Look, you are going to spend the rest of your life in the "Real World", you may as well live it up for a while.
This doesn't mean don't have goals, or think about your future, but come on. Don't lose sleep over it. Things happen very fast. Life passes you buy. Are you going to miss it worrying about tomorrow?
Best advice I have is just be ready for anything. Be flexible. Life WILL WORK OUT! You'll make plenty of mistakes just like everyone else.
Again, I'm not saying you shouldn't think about the future. You should have an idea of what you want out of life. But that doesn't mean you need to know what you are going to do for a career, or how many kids you want. That will probably change too. If you would have asked me 10 years ago, I would have said I wanted 6 kids, and I wanted to live in Morgan. Well, we had 3 boys and that was enough for us. Morgan is a nice place, but I would never move back there. I've changed. What I want changed...but I love my life. As far as I am concerned, if you're not living in my world; it sucks to be you. I can't imagine a place more beautiful.
So go out and see the world. Enjoy your youth and all of the beauty and charm. There is too much out there, and you don't want to miss it. Good luck!

I had a scary pee last night..

Advice needed 1500 miles away from Brad Anderson World Headquarters. I keep having a re-occurring dream that results in me wetting the bed. It involves the Smith family basement, a wooden leg, old tools, and "IT." Do you have any suggestions for overcoming such night terrors?


John H. - Indiana

The first thing you need to realize is that your cousins are pretty awesome. Every thing you saw in that basement was real. There was no acting going on down there. Just be happy that Wade has to deal with it now. There is still an old lady in the closet at the end of the hall. She is still in that wheelchair, and that old man in Grandpa's overalls still lives beneath the stairs. The only reason we never were scared is because we befriended them. We gave them Peanut M & M's from the upstairs closet, "Honey Smacks" from the cereal cupboard, and Tab from the down stairs storage room. We also, from time to time, heated them up a Totino's pizza from the big freezer in the laundry room.
Where you need to find solace is in the fact that you are now miles away. It will take that old lady months to wheel her self to your house. In her age, I doubt she would be able to find it anyway. And un-less Wade told her, she doesn't even know where you live.
Now the guy with the wooden leg is a different story. He has a car. He could get there in a few days. But relax, he (His name's Roger by the way) found a job at "Harts", and he'd rather help fill a "Big Dipper" than kill little kids. Last time I saw him he said: "Sure killing people in Ralph and Mabel's basement was fun. I've got a lot of good memories there. The screaming, the crying, you name it. But I've moved on. That killing just didn't pay the bills like I had hoped."
See John, you have no reason to be scared. The bed wetting is actually just a bladder problem. Make sure you go potty before bed time. Lay off of the "Big Dipper's" at night. And if your body tells you it's pee pee time, then you better listen to it and go to the potty.