To start this story, we have to go back three years to when I was a senior in high school. My friends all knew what they were doing with college. But I was stuck. The deadlines to apply were approaching and I still had no idea what to do, So I turned to the educators I trusted — my writing teacher, my drama club’s advisor and my guidance counselor and they all said the same thing: Do what makes you happy.
The idea came into my head when I consulted everyone close to me, was that I was good with kids. Growing up in a family where little children constantly surrounded me, it only made sense that my path was meant to go the route of teaching. There’s a special kind of person that it takes to be a teacher, that’s what everyone always said to me. But was I that person?
I applied to schools for teaching and decided on Cortland because it had the best teaching program that the SUNY school’s offered. And I was happy, because I felt like I knew what I was doing.
But as time went on, it didn’t feel right.
I went through my freshman year with a constant feeling of panic about the classes I was taking and all the material I had to remember. All at once, I just decided it wasn’t for me. I remember texting my best friend in tears, moreover just out of fear, because I was afraid to tell anyone that I had no idea what I wanted to do. I felt like I had wasted an entire year and was so scared to tell the people that supported me so much that I was just giving up on teaching.
When I told my parents, my dad looked me in the eyes and said the same thing he and everyone else had told me three years ago: You have to do what makes you happy.
Currently, I’m majoring in Professional Writing and just feel so much less anxiety everyday. I can’t judge teaching majors, and don’t because they’re strong people to take what the major has to endure, it’s much more than anyone thinks.
Changing my major allowed me to see another side of myself, one that allows me to live my time at college to my fullest potential and be the best person I can be because I’m not bogged down by the things that used to scare me about my future career. Writing isn’t the most stable career choice either, some people will point that out easily. But I’m finally doing what everyone told me to do in the first place: I’m making myself happy.
Changing your major is not quitting, and if you’re thinking of doing it, find someone who will tell you that, even if it has to be yourself. It means you’re making the choice for you, so that you can be the best person you can be and ultimately, make yourself happy.
