When I was young, I wanted to be all kinds of different things. I had many goals and aspirations, just like any other kid. I wanted to be anything from a hair stylist, a tattoo artist, a teacher, a police officer, a lawyer, and even the president.

In middle school, I stopped thinking about all of that. People would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I wouldn't have an answer. If anything, I tried to avoid the question altogether. On occasion, I would conduct late-night Google searches, which sparked some of my interests that I still have today. But, I didn't know what to do with any of them.

Once high school came around, I started to become more aware of the future. I was overwhelmed with the thought of having to prepare for college. I was constantly asked what I wanted to major in and what I wanted to do with my life. From my middle school fascinations, I would respond saying that I wanted to do something with juvenile criminal psychology. I stuck with that until my senior year.

During senior year, I thought that choosing a major was one of the most crucial decisions of my life. I didn't want to go to college and be that kid who changed their major like twenty times and waste money. I was determined to have my whole life figured out. After going through some things, and having realizations about other things, I decided to stick to what I was good at - or at least, what I thought I was good at. I was also, at the time, heavily influenced by my teachers. So, because of all that, I started my college career as a secondary chemistry education major.

I went into college with a full plan for my life. I was gonna learn everything I could about things that I love and that interested me. Even though I was very well aware of how hard it was going to be, part of me also thought that it would be a piece of cake. From there, I was going to get my degree, graduate in four years, and then automatically be placed in a school to start teaching. I'd have my big-kid job, and then eventually get married and have kids. I had a nice future planned out.

I learned very quickly that was not going to be the case. After struggling throughout most of my major courses during my freshman year, I decided towards the end of the second semester to do something about it. I learned my academic strengths and weaknesses that year, and I decided to move towards my strengths. This was a struggle for me because even though I already considered doing it and I knew what it was that I wanted to change my major to, I felt as though I was letting myself down. It just the year before when I told myself that once I chose my major I was going to stick to it. But then I realized: I had just entered my college career. I still had a lot of time left. That, and yeah, it was actually okay to change majors. A lot of people do it, and most of the time they're happier afterwards. It's not that often that 18- and 19-year-olds have their lives figured out. If they do, then more power to them. Great job.

So, I decided to be happy. With a friend accompanying me, I went and changed my major to English/professional writing. Immediately after changing, liberation came over me. I no longer felt scared and intimidated to go to classes, and I was no longer afraid of failure. I was excited, and I felt a huge sense of motivation that I lacked after the first two weeks of the first semester.

After I changed it, I went through the slew of questions from friends and family: Why did you change your major? What are you going to do with that major? What can you do with that major? And many others.

The answer to the first question was easy. But the others... not so much. At first, I felt uneasy with giving "I don't know," and "I have no idea" as suitable answers. They felt so indefinite and unsure, which were honest. I knew nothing about what kind of jobs or careers people got with that degree. But after giving those answers a couple of times, I also added on "I'm just gonna see where life takes me." And even though that still sounded unsure, I felt more okay with that.

I recently finished the first semester of my sophomore year with my new major. In the beginning of the semester, I also added on a public relations minor. I got more questions about it, but grew more confident with my answers. As the semester went on, I drifted away from needing to have a plan to setting goals. They're broad goals, but it still gives me something to work towards. And having just that is enough for me. Having goals instead of a set plan allows wiggle room. It allows changes, if necessary.

I have no idea what I want to do with my life, but that's okay. I just know that I want to move out of state, get some kind of job, and be happy. I'm motivated now more than I ever was, and I'm so excited for the future. I'm just gonna see where life takes me, and hope that I meet those goals along the way.