When I went to college, I was dead set on being a middle school social studies teacher. All I wanted to do was inspire students to love the subject as much as I had growing up. But probably a week into the introduction class, I already knew my future would not take me to teaching. I think the biggest sign for me that I shouldn't teach was how easy it was for me to move on from the idea; even though I spent so much time dreaming about teaching, I knew that it was not what I would end up doing.
In the next few weeks, I had to drop a different class (Spanish and I just weren’t meant to be) and ended up in an Intro to American politics class. This class excited me. I looked forward to it, loved the work and was never bored in the lectures. I decided to consider the possibility of being a Political Science major.
It wasn't too long before I found myself being excited to tell people what I was studying, something I had missed with education. I loved to tell people what I was doing and explain things to them. While I have no actual idea where I want to go with my major, I do know that I would rather spend my four years in college studying something that I love.
In my international politics class the other day, my professor was talking about the value of our education. We put so much value on getting a job in our society that we have forgotten the vale of an education; being able to deeply understand the world and how it works. It is a special privilege to go to college for the value and not necessarily for the job afterwards, but I think we are losing sight of our education's value.
I really hope I get a job at the end of college, but I am also really glad that what I am studying is something I truly enjoy.
