If you ask any of my friends, they will be able to count all the times I changed my major on one hand. One thing stayed true though. I always knew I wanted to help people.
The summer of my senior year of high school, I fully believed I was going to go to college for nursing. The plan was ultimately to do ROTC, have that pay for my education, and become an Army Nurse. I thought my drive to help others was only through medicine. Med school itself never appealed to me, so nursing was my next best bet.
Going into my last year of high school, on the other hand, I completely lost interest in going into the military. It wasn't the lifestyle for me, and by forcing myself to do it, I would have been miserable. I then figured I could become an English major and follow my love to writing. Honestly, writing has always been a passion of mine since sixth grade, so I figured I could make a career out of it. Also, maybe I could motivate and help people through my writing, and eventually become a professional public speaker.
Yet, when the presidential election happened in 2016, I was fired up. I was angered that I couldn't voice my opinion on the direction our country should go in because I was 17. I was ready to make my voice be heard. That was when I knew how I could help people. I changed from applying as an English major to a Political Science major.
However, everything changed again once I came to college . I took an International Relations course, and absolutely loved it. It was a mandatory class for political science majors at Temple, but there wee also a lot of Global Studies majors in that class. I also loved taking a language, and finding out I would have the opportunity to take four semesters worth of a language rather than just two was a huge driving force. I also figured since I loved my IR class, it was a sign this was what I was meant to do.
Fast forward to the beginning of my sophomore year, and I entered the Global Studies track on the culture track. I was so excited, but that was also short lived.
I began this semester with the introduction class to Global Studies. I loved the two lessons we had within the security unit, but they were policy related. After those two lessons were finished within the first two weeks of classes, I found myself growing bored in the class. I grew more interested in the one political science class I decided to take this semester, which specialized in the operations of set up of the United Nations.
Halfway through the semester, I had failed three of the papers.
Now for me, any grade below a 80% causes me to panic. Plus, writing papers is my specialty. For any exam, I always do well on the written portion because I can fully explain myself and demonstrate I knew the material. When it comes to multiple choice, I panic. I always end up second guessing myself even when the answer is correct. It's just bad.
I stepped back and thought of why I could be doing so poorly. I spent countless hours completing the readings, weekly writings, and wrote a research paper I hardheartedly believed in. I actively took notes in class and participated in class discussions. I believed I was putting my 100% effort in, even if the tops were starting to be boring.
Talking to my professor and my academic adviser, we talked about my future career plans and what interests me, it all became clear pretty quickly.. I realized that my interest will always remain in Political Science, and that is honestly the best major that currently aligns with my career goals.
So after getting a confirmation email from my adviser when I made my decision that it was okay to switch back to poli sci, I withdrew from the credit. It didn't play into any of the required GenEd credits Temple requires you to take, and it didn't even carry over to the Political Science program.
Sure, I may now just be taking 13 credits, but I still have my internship and involved in my other internships. Next semester, I know I will be fully focused on my major because it really is what I want to do. I know this can possibly get me to law school, taking another master program following undergrad, or millions of other opportunities.
This is how I can help people by fighting for those who cannot have their voices be heard and making a better tomorrow.
