I came into college as an English and Theater major with the possibly of an Economics major or minor. Then I took an Econ class at 8 am every Tuesday and Thursday all semester and decided it wasn't for me. I looked at the English major requirements at my college and discovered that an English major is quite a bit of reading and analyzing. My true passion with words lies within writing. Finally, I learned that my favorite form of theater is a good old musical and that I didn't want to spend four years focusing primarily on straight acting and drama, rather than Musical Theater.
Long story short, I don't know what I want to be when I grow up...and that's okay. I loved my political science class and I adore writing. So, perhaps a political analyst? Perhaps I'll end up working in politics? I love music, specifically songs from musicals, and I'm interested in the business minor at my college. So maybe arts administration or arts management? Maybe I'll work for a theater someday.
However, in reality, I don't actually know. But, that's why at many colleges, you don't have to declare a major until as late as spring of your sophomore year. That's two years to try out classes, meeting with academic advisors, get an internship, talk with the career services office. That's plenty of time to research job paths and learn about the opportunities available to you once you graduate college. You can figure out which career journey will provide happiness in your life.
College freshmen, in my opinion, don't have to walk into college being 100% positive idea of what they want to do. Sure, many students know. Some know they want to be a doctor, or a politician, or a teacher, or a scientist. But just as many come in undecided.
Sometimes, undecided is the way to be. Think about the possibilities! Think about how many classes you'll be able to take to discover your calling! Maybe you'll even be the student done with your general education requirements first. Maybe you'll end up in a major you never even considered in high school. You could take a random class to fulfill a requirement and discover you love the subject.
All in all, college is the prime time to learn more about yourself and about your future career. It's okay to begin college with a major (or several) in mind, it's okay to change your mind a few months in, it's okay to come in completely undecided. I came in with a dozen possibilities, and am beginning to narrow them down, but it will still take a little more time to really figure it out.. And that's A-okay.
