I don't know what I'm going to do next, so

But, that's fine with me.

The way I see it, no one can possibly know who they're going to be or what they'll be doing 50 years from now. So stop asking because I won't tell.

It's like assuming you get a sneak peek into your life at graduation. Would you want to know how the story ends? I wouldn't.

I don't want to know if my boyfriend isn't the one or that my first-born child will die before I do. I want my life to be full of surprises, because the essence of what makes a memory is how I felt at that particular time. Knowing the ending ruins the journey.

Just because I'm graduating doesn't mean I have my entire life mapped out and I like it that way, but try explaining that to parents who have spent thousands of dollars on their child's college investment.   That's what this diploma boils down to -- my parents' investing in their own retirement.

I don't plan on putting my parents in a nursing home, but if I had to, I would like to able to afford it. I have the same hope for my kids.

I know my college degree won't guarantee a job, but at least it's a start and having it means that the proud parents sitting next you shouldn't worry. Your investment will pay off, and not like the shares you held during the Asian stock market crash.

I do have a plan, but it's not the one you want to hear. I would like to join the Peace Corps and save the world, even though my mom keeps insisting there are people here I could help.

I'd also like to spend at least the next three months recuperating from my life as a student: 14-hour days, four days a week, copy editing like an indentured servant in the Daily Forty-Niner dungeon; holding a 20-hour-a-week job that pays real money; and carrying a full load of classes on top of that.

That plan sounds good enough for me.

Michelle Devera is the news editor of the Daily Forty-Niner and a senior graduating with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism and English education.