“What’s your major?” Coach Clay asked as he picked up a pencil and prepared to enroll me in my first college courses.

“My major?”

“Yeah. You picked one yet?”

“No . . .”

“You need to before I can schedule your classes. What do you want to major in?

“I don’t know . . . I just want to play football.”

“You can’t play football if you aren’t in classes. What do you want to be? What do you like?"

“I like sports.”

Seeing this could be a long process, Coach Clay paused and thought. “Ok . . . how about Physical Education?”

“You mean . . . to be a P.E. teacher?”

“That’s not all you can do. That was my major. Besides, you can change it to whatever you want when you transfer.”

“Works for me,” I said, hoping that would conclude our conversation so we could go to practice.

It’s evident that I didn’t begin my college career with a proper goal. About three decades later, I have yet to leave college.

“What do you want to be?”

That’s a question I routinely ask college students, and most provide a seemingly scripted answer. A good majority will most likely change their answer before they graduate. Some will embarrassingly say, “I don’t know.” To put them at ease, I usually say, “Don’t worry. I still don’t either.”

Goals are amazingly helpful, and I fully encourage them. But as Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Well, get ready because life is full of hard punches.

Even when goals fall apart, or you can’t generate an idea, do something. Be kind, serve others, and do hard things. Just be productive! Joyce Meyer said, “You can’t drive a parked car.” You never know what God will reveal to you along the way.