I have no idea what I want to do after school. To the disappointment of the endless inquirers, young and old, from home and in Los Angeles, I don’t have a 50-step plan or job offers piling up on my desk. And I’m fine with that.

I got into USC as a philosophy, politics and economics major. Family members aplenty struggled to understand how that was a real program, whether it was one field more than the other or what I planned to do for work right out of commencement. I hadn’t even flown to the United States yet.

In some measure, I understand the curiosity and insistence of my loved ones. I was leaving for four years to a foreign country — and to a massive city at that — to live by myself for the first time. But they also expected, to my dismay, a watertight plan for the rest of my life. I couldn’t even tell them why I chose the major that I chose.

Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.

I was under the impression that the people I would find here would share this sentiment. However, the fun little fact that no one tells you about is how much that age-old “What are you gonna do with that degree?” question follows you, even across national boundaries and from one language to another. Networking events, club meet-and-greets and even the odd fundrager all seem to be plagued with that ever-present query.

The difference is that instead of coming from a place of worry or plain curiosity, some of my peers seem to compete over what Bachelor of Arts degree will get the best 401k after graduation. This reinforced that I had to think about how much money I would make instead of what made me happy. It was a heavy burden during my first year, but it was a fog that quickly dissipated as soon as I joined the Daily Trojan.

All of a sudden, I was not a bumbling freshman struggling to find a path. I was a podcaster, writer, reporter and interviewer. The barn doors of campus engagement were opened, huzzah! The realization that I could do whatever I wanted opened my eyes and ears to all the things I’d never done, all the dreams I’d ever had. In a matter of months, this pre-law major was taking improv classes.

Part of this revolution was the environment of people and places I saw every day. Back home, I was scrambling to find the words to justify my life choices to aunts and cousins. In my classes and in the newsroom, I could just create without consequence. There was no need to question my decisions when all those around me made the same ones; all those around me made me feel I made the right ones.

As I became more independent, the weight of others’ expectations lightened on my shoulders. If I had been back at home, I think I would feel guilty to admit how much I had started to enjoy performing on stage or speaking into a microphone. However, in this new environment, I was so happy to explore new endeavors and make discoveries about myself that there was no guilt to speak of.

The more I explored uncharted territory, the more I wanted to keep going. In the blink of an eye, I had changed my major, added another and became an editor at DT. And sure, I loved every point of that trident, but if it was hard to say what I was going to do post-grad before, now it was near-impossible to satisfy any of my family members with the straight answer they so desired, especially as a brand-spanking-new theatre major.

Surprisingly, I now feel a lot more at peace with that uncertainty. I have learned and grown as a journalist, artist and person — much more than I had ever imagined and in ways I would have never predicted. My answer to the ever-present question of what I’ll do after school has not changed — not one word — but the air that fills my chest and the pride I feel in saying it is new and very much welcome.

There are downsides to wanting to do it all, with the sleep schedule being the first one to suffer. But anyone with a double major or a job alongside school knows that a tight calendar is a necessary evil to do all that you can, want and must. And the question will never cease! Trust me when I say that the same people who ask you these unreasonable questions will continue to do so. So take a beat, fill your lungs and share your response as loudly as you possibly can: “I have no idea!”

“Editors’ Epilogue” is a rotating column featuring a different Daily Trojan editor in each installment writing about their personal experiences. Fabián Gutiérrez is a sophomore majoring in political economy as well as theatre and is a magazine editor at the Daily Trojan.