College: a time of education, self discovery, and growth. A large part of every student’s collegiate career will be decided by their choice of major. Your major dictates what specific set of core classes you will be required to take in order to receive your degree. Deciding on a major that is in a field that you feel passionate about, as well as feel you can be successful in, is extremely crucial to each student’s future career path. So, today I want to talk about deciding on a major, and what to do if you feel that you want to change your major.
First things first, how do you decide on a major? Some people know what they want to focus on in college as early as freshman year of high school, while others may not discover their true calling until well into college. Personally, I discovered mine during the end of my sophomore year in high school, (and it ended up changing twice, but we’ll get to that later). I met a group of people that made me realize that I loved kids, and really wanted to work with them. Having said that, not everybody discovers what their major will be through some life-changing epiphany. For some people, it is as easy as saying “I love math, so I guess I’ll major in math.” The best advice I can give is to pick something you’re passionate about, as there is a degree offered for just about everything you could think of -- except for maybe sleeping, but I could be wrong.
As far as changing your major is concerned, the most important advice I can give is to not get discouraged. Trust me, this part is much easier said than done. I’ve been there. I’m currently on my third (and hopefully last) major. I went into my first year of college thinking I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life, and it honestly did not take much time for that to change. It took some time for me to figure things out and really focus on a major again. But I never allowed myself to get discouraged. I never wanted to just float through school aimlessly, just going through the motions. While the path was not easy, I eventually found my passion again. My case is not a rare one either. Most students end up changing their major at least once. In short, don’t get disheartened if you end up changing majors; it happens to the best of us!
Deciding on a major in college can either be the simplest thing you’ve ever done or the worst headache you’ve ever had. But it is important to stay focused, not get discouraged, and know that you will figure everything out in due time.
