Our frontal lobe develops fully at age 25. Approximately three years after completing a standard undergraduate degree. Even with this known information colleges require us to figure out our burning passion and a perfect path to get there in our teenage years. At this age, how could we possibly know this?

When fall rolls around, the scene of anxious college applicant season approaches. This overwhelmingly stressful time for students creeps up every year to everyone’s delight. Although this season is a reoccurring holiday, in the past couple of years the anxiety of it all has heightened. With competition becoming stronger, acceptance rates have shrunken substantially. University of Florida’s acceptance rate was 46.55% for the class of 2014 but in the last year the percentage has diminished to 24%. The once alma mater of your parents that you always saw yourself attending, may now be too competitive.

With the popularity of social media in our modern age, comes many new problems. One example I see in my every day social media scroll are videos of “humble” applications of so called “not so strong applicants.” These “modest” stats include international awards, worldwide non-profits, and of course a perfect GPA. These unrealistic videos can be very harmful for already stressed teens. It’s diminishing to see other students with the same academic aspirations as you and a very different application. Social media already brings a world of comparison to insecure teens. Not only are they weighing other factors of their present life, but they also worry about how their future will line up.

Something I would love to ask college admission officers is: why as teenagers must we know what our passion is?

Many people give advice to base your application on the career you wish to pursue. If you want to be in medicine, you must be volunteering at a hospital, in health focused clubs, and possibly in some sort of internship with a doctor to stand out.

But the question is: how must we be so committed and dedicated to a plan we don’t know we want?

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “About 80% of students in college end up changing their major at least once. On average, college students change their major at least three times over the course of their college career.”

I’m not arguing that our generation shouldn’t strive to be better and want more. Teenagers should care about their goals and future but remember to live their life. It’s normal to not know what you want to do and it’s always okay to experience mistakes on your path to success.