Developing a philosophy of opportunity, senior Liza Petersson plans to travel the world
Even within the first week of senior year, the chaos of planning for the future is already in motion. College is now just a year away for many students -- and having anything other than a step-by-step schedule for the next decade seems like it would lead nowhere. Yet, senior Liza Petersson’s plan is to barely have a plan at all -- which may be able to take her everywhere.
Senior year for the average high school student is packed with months of planning, stress and final experiences of teenage life before being sent off into the wider world. Most seem to be focused on the next day, the next week, the next month -- yet one senior in particular is more focused on living through senior year one day at a time and experiencing all it has to offer. For Petersson, senior year is about Senior Prom, last football games and a final soccer season that’s bound to be memorable. “Having the last experiences this year is important to me because I want to remember my high school days. As much as I am looking forward to the next chapter of my life, I still want to have tons of memories to look back on,” said Petersson.
The question still remains for afterwards -- and for that, she has a few interesting ideas.
\tOnce leaving the nest, she doesn’t plan to stop the go-with-the-flow philosophy that she’s adopted; though, she has a few ideas about where she’d like to go from there. Her primary goal: entrepreneurship. She plans on running her own business -- specifically, a restaurant -- and she intends to study business at IU following her senior year of high school.
Petersson explained, “I want to study business and entrepreneurship because I love the idea of being my own boss. I like coming up with my own visions and putting them into effect. Opening a restaurant is my goal right now; and if I end up doing that, then I will have a lot of creative freedom. I am excited to start my career, but I have a lot of things in life that I want to do before that.” Besides that, she’s not sure what else she’ll study or the steps she’ll take to reach her goal. The opportunities will reveal themselves with patience, and the best way for her to do that is bound to be traveling to greater places.
\tAfter college, those new experiences are expected to expand, with travel at the forefront of her future -- and a trip to Europe seeming a good place to start abroad. Travel is probably what seems the most intriguing to her, as interests lie in learning from others and seeing where the wind will take her.
“With this freedom, my goal is to learn more about the world and about different cultures within the world and even the country, too,” said Petersson. “Growing up solely in the Midwest does not do justice to the experiences outside of it. I want to also meet new people and make new memories in different ways than I ever have.” She seems intent on going out and gathering new skills. Maybe one of them can even set her on the path to her dream career, but for now, she waits for the next experience to come on the horizon, prepared to grab hold of the next adventure.
\tWhile all of it must seem pretty planned out, Petersson simply intends to see where fate will take her. No matter what happens between college and beyond, she’s sure it will be memorable. She is open to the experiences that will come her way and she plans to grab onto opportunities. She doesn’t need a detailed plan.
\tFor right now she only needs a faint outline, a set of goals and a go-getter attitude to move forward through life with. “My philosophy after college will be to travel and learn more about the world. I want to work odd jobs around different parts of the country (and world) before I actually settle down and start a lifelong career. I am intrigued by the idea of not settling down for a few years and just seeing where the world takes me. I don’t want to have a set plan. I just want to see where I end up and enjoy every minute of it, whether that’s working at a national park in Arizona, a restaurant in New York City or even a cruise ship traveling the world.”
Story by Annika Christiansen