When I was a little girl, I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. So did every other girl in America: a princess. Then, when I entered the seventh grade, I knew I needed to start thinking about what I was interested in for the future. My mind probably changed about 100 times in just one day. I thought about things like photographer, marine biologist, and archaeologist. Then once I entered high school, my mind changed maybe 20 times a day. Author, publicist, doctor, and lawyer. By the time I entered my senior year, I had narrowed it down to two choices: forensic scientist or doctor.
I started school in the Fall of 2013 majoring in molecular biology. I had decided that I wanted to be a doctor at Texas Children's Hospital. My first day of class was okay, but I could hardly understand the professor. I had taken biology before and did great, but I did not know how much more there was to know. By the six-week check mark, I was failing the class and went to talk to the professor to discuss my options. He told me I could probably pass with a 'D' if I kept improving, but no higher than a 'C.' I told myself this was unacceptable.
I decided to withdraw from the course to protect my GPA from falling too low. Once the semester ended and I was home for Christmas, I sat down with my mom so we could talk about my options. We looked at many different majors including art, public relations, english, and business. So many of these I had never even thought of as a career path. I thought about dropping out and moving back home for good. I asked my mom, "How can I go back without a plan?" She just told me to try it out again and maybe something will click. If I didn't have a plan by the end of sophomore year, then we would look at other options.
I thought she was crazy, but I gave it a shot. I went back to school in the spring and tried a few different classes that might help. I even talked to several different people and asked them how they chose their majors. They all said the same thing- "It will come to you when you aren't looking." And they were right. I attended the majors fair at my school and talked to several professors in many different departments. By the time I left I had declared a new major: Business Marketing. I had always been interested in marketing, but had never seen myself as the business type.
It's okay if you don't know what you want to do with your life. Just going to college is a step in the right direction. Many people go to college without a major so they can choose one later. College is all about finding yourself and figuring out who you are. While we are in college, our minds will change from what we once thought we liked to something different. We make new friends, join new clubs, and even take classes we never thought we would take. I never thought I would be a business major, but here I am, about to start my senior year in school and set to graduate with a major and a minor. You'll never know if you like something until you try it.
