I never knew that my life was lacking–not academically, anyway–until I declared my major. It's possible that your experience was different, but when I recently declared my major (sociology) I found an unexpected sense of accomplishment. There I was: picking my "so major" button with a dog on it (arguably the best part of the process) and I felt like I had finally chosen a path. Truthfully, I had decided my major months earlier, so it's not like anything had changed but paperwork and a new button.

When you go to orientation in college or even at some college tours you are told when you must choose your major. You probably imagine the decision as life or death, but it's not. I didn't really get the "declare your major" talk at MHC because I am a transfer student and everyone assumed I already knew these things. Newsflash: I didn't know these things. No one should expect an easily frazzled college student like myself to know important dates or how to go about meeting these dates. Of course, all students are assigned an adviser so hopefully you have looked to them or will look to them for advice. Also, apparently people really do want you to succeed in college so they will help you; who knew?

Instead of asking for help, I looked up the information on the website, proceeded to freak out when I saw that I was supposed to declare this semester, and then I started reviewing the necessary form. Yes, form. There is one sheet that you need to fill out and get signed by the department head. That's all. This daunting process was so simple it was laughable. I completed it in a day and TADA, major declared. There were no challenges to complete, no exams or even any special card stock paper–which every official document should be on. Any old shmoe could do it, so it's strange that there is such a sense of accomplishment from a simple act.

If your school is anything like mine, you probably have to start thinking about your major by the end of your freshman year so that you can declare at some point during your sophomore year. It seems that even the most organized college student struggles with this decision which is perfectly fine, I mean it is a big decision in many ways. You also should remember that it is not a permanent decision, some people change their majors multiple times, but some never do. Overall, I guess this is just a college rite of passage, freaking out about declaring your major, doing some research, getting some forms–or a form, in my case–signed, and making it official. It is definitely not as scary as it seems.