When I was 7, I had my father sign a contract I had written that said if I got into Harvard University, he would buy me a convertible. I guess a convertible was the best prize I could think of at the time, and getting an Ivy League education was what I saw as most worthy of my effort. Though my plans changed considerably — by the time I was ready to start applying to colleges, Harvard was the furthest thing from my mind — the pattern that persisted was a distinct vision of success and a drive to achieve it.

That drive led me to the right school (and a Park Scholarship to pay for it), the right internships and being editor in chief of The Ithacan. But the “right” path could only take me so far and, upon graduation, I’ll stand at the end of it jobless.

For seniors, it’s a scary time. Even those of us who have done the “right” thing for our whole lives are finding ourselves victims of the one thing that was out of our control — the economy. The class of 2008 graduated into an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent. Last month, that rate hit 8.5 percent. Half of that increase occurred in the past four months alone. With those statistics looming, we’ll have to come to terms with the fact that all of our best intentions and all of our hard work may, for the time being, lead to nothing.

Personally, I’m OK with that.

I’ve been an overachiever since I was at least 7 years old, and now, I’m exhausted. I’m using the recession as my excuse to sit this one out. It’s not as if I don’t have plans — I’m going to travel, read better books and more of them, finally subscribe to the print edition of the New York Times and even buy an easel and try my hand at painting. After four years of sitting at a desk, I’ll probably tan a little, too.

The thing is, fellow overachievers who graduated in better times have all admitted the same regret — they didn’t take enough time for themselves after graduation. Part of this is about breathing fresh life into your pool of experiences. It’s about taking the time to try new things, meet new people, explore options you’ve never considered — things that are completely not “right” — just because you can.

A bigger part of taking time off, though, is having that time to think for yourself. It’s an odd paradox that the same generation that abolished modesty and found every way to digitally flaunt itself is too busy to ever stop and self-reflect. I get it, though. When you’ve been going down the “right” path at full speed since kindergarten, it’s hard to slow down and wonder what made you qualified to even pick your own path at that age. Up until this point, that path has led us through everything we’ve done without the need for much questioning. Now, with all the wisdom gained in 20-something years, is the time to rethink, re-evaluate and reflect on a journey that began before we even knew what we were getting ourselves into.

The fact is the declining job market is not our fault. And more so, there’s nothing we can do about it. Don’t get me wrong, if I was offered a job I would gladly take it, but at some point, we need to be willing to take a step back and just be confident that the skills and experiences we’ve had will shine through when it counts the most. For now, for the first time since I tried to commit myself to Harvard just because it seemed like the right thing to do, I’m going to spend some time making myself a more developed person instead of a more developed résumé.

Erin Geismar is a senior journalism major and editor in chief of The Ithacan. E-mail her at egeisma1@ithaca.edu.