Lost after graduation? Totally normal.

Less pressure, more clarity: How to find your path and start trusting yourself.

1. The moment everyone asks about your plan – and you have none

2. Why the perfect life plan is just a myth

3. How your path reveals itself step by step

4. Learning to trust – the winding trail of life

5. A letter to my younger self – and maybe to you

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As a kid, there’s really only one thing you know: school. You wake up in the morning, maybe get dropped off or take the bus, sit down in the classroom – and then that routine begins. The one that slowly becomes your everyday life. Sitting for hours, listening, taking notes, studying.

Usually stuff you’re not even really interested in. Classes drag on, breaks feel too short, and between vocab tests, math exams and endless homework, there’s barely any space to just breathe.

And then – suddenly, almost out of nowhere – graduation is just around the corner. Out of the blue, every adult wants to know what’s next.

University? An apprenticeship? Maybe a gap year? Work & Travel? And if so, where to?

What do you want to do with your life? What career suits you?

And right in that moment, just when you think, “Okay, I’ve almost made it,” everything starts to feel heavier. The world around you becomes huge. The options seem endless – but instead of freedom, it all feels like pressure. Like being lost. Like you’re supposed to know something important… but you just don’t. Not yet.

I remember asking myself in that exact moment: Why don’t I have a clue what I want? Is something wrong with me? Or am I the only one who feels like everyone else already knows exactly where they’re heading? The business management degree. The dual civil engineering program. The adventurous one with the backpack heading to Thailand and Bali for a year. And me? Stuck in the middle. Overwhelmed. Thinking I should be going to university now, starting something “real” – having a solid life plan all figured out. But you know what? That whole idea of the perfect life plan – it’s a myth.

A story we’ve been told over and over again. One that sounds nice, but honestly doesn’t match most people’s reality. Sure, some people know early on what they want. But most? They just pick something that sounds interesting at the time. Maybe a field they once did a school internship in. Maybe the first suggestion someone gave them.

In the end, we all just start somewhere. No guarantees. No crystal ball. And the older I get, the more I realize: Even a lot of adults don’t really know where they’re heading to – they’re just better at pretending.

I still remember one specific day so clearly. Someone had asked me - again - what I wanted to do after school. A totally harmless question, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. I sat down at my computer and started opening one tab after another: University courses, training programs, travel destinations. Everything was there. From “What am I good at?” to “What makes a lot of money?” all the way to “How do I just get out of here?” And still… I had no answer. Just that dull, heavy feeling in my stomach: emptiness. I used to think that emptiness meant something was wrong with me.

But now I know: it’s not a flaw.

That emptiness? It’s space. Space to grow, to question, to try things out. To take detours you’ll one day be grateful for. I used to think I needed a plan – not just for myself, but to prove to others that I had it all together. As if clarity was some kind of proof that you’re “functioning.”

But over time, I realized: My gut feeling was often way clearer than any life plan I’d tried to piece together in my head. I just had to start trusting it – and take things one step at a time.

I had already traveled quite a bit during school – mostly during holidays, always with this craving for more. After graduation, I finally wanted to give myself the time to really go. No pressure, no schedule.

Just me, the world, and the hope to grow. Still, I didn’t want to leave completely without a plan.

So before my trip, I secured a job – or actually, a dual study program – something I could start right after I got back. Security, I thought. At least something to hold onto. But – and yes, I know it sounds super cliché – that trip changed everything.

Not just because of the places I saw. But because of how I started to see myself. Because I began to understand who I am when I stop trying to meet everyone else’s expectations. A spontaneous job opportunity while traveling opened up an entirely new perspective. It showed me that there are so many paths I didn’t even know existed. And suddenly, what started as “just trying something out”

turned into a rough direction that felt clearer with each step I took. Life isn’t a paved road with signs and a GPS. It’s a narrow trail. And sometimes, that trail leads straight into a giant, open field – and you’re just standing there, needing to reorient yourself and find the next path on your own.

That uncertainty – the one that feels so uncomfortable? It’s not a sign you’ve failed.

On the contrary: it’s proof that you’re moving forward.

Some of the most important things I’ve learned along the way weren’t facts or ready-made answers - but new perspectives. Mental permissions I gave myself.

• I’m allowed not to know everything.

• I’m allowed to change my mind.

• I’m allowed to be brave – even when I don’t yet know what for.

• I’m allowed to trust myself and my abilities.

• I’m allowed to feel lost.

• I’m allowed to get to know myself. And to find my way.

If I could talk to my 18-year-old self today, I’d say:

“You don’t need a plan that lasts forever. You’re allowed to feel exactly how you feel. And I promise – you don’t need a carved-in-stone life plan. The only thing you truly need is the courage to take your next step.”

If you’re feeling the same way right now:

I see you. I hear you. And you’re not alone.

Feel free to leave me a comment and share where you’re at. Do you know this feeling? Have you had similar thoughts? I’d also love to hear from you on social media – let’s connect.

Because sometimes, just knowing that someone else feels the same way can make all the difference.

„Maybe the most beautiful plan is the one you write as you go."