I Am Unconfident In My Major And That's OK

As the spring quarter ends at Western Washington University, I am finding myself more stressed than I ever have been. I think that I might have stretched myself too far, but there's nothing I can do about that now. I am also doubting that I will be unsuccessful in a major that I am passionate about.

I am studying journalism at Western and I have realized that this is what I'm meant to do. I never considered writing as a career, yet I always knew that I was a creative person. This past quarter, I decided to write for my school's newspaper since you need to in order to be accepted into the major. I don't think that this was a decision that I was ready for.

I thought that I had all the tools I needed for this publication. I had taken news writing, which teaches you how to write as a journalist. I had also taken reporting, which teaches you how to report. Duh. These classes made me realize my passion for journalism and gave me the confidence that I had for the next steps in the major. I think that I might have been wrong.

Writing has become one of my favorite past-times, and I consider myself good at it. But when I write for my publication, I find myself stuck in a rut. I can't get my ideas out on paper and I don't know what direction I want to take with my articles. Some people may say this is writer's block, but it feels more intense since there's a deadline on each assignment.

The way that this class is designed isn't the greatest in my opinion. You need to write a buttload of stories in order to pass with just a B-. I thought that doing 10 or more stories in one quarter was manageable, but I had only written five to eight in my other journalism classes during the past quarters. Plus, you stack on multiple stories at a time along with your other assignments for different classes. Before, I had only written one story at a time.

Working on multiple stories at a time becomes stress inducing not after too long. As I mentioned before, I have found myself more stressed out than I have ever been. I usually manage stress well, but I'm finding myself wanting to give up on my major. That's concerning to me. If I think that journalism is my passion yet I doubt that I'll be good at it, is this really the right choice for me? Yes.

I think that it's OK to have doubts about what you want to do in life. When I first came to college, I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. But I had found a passion for journalism, and now I am sure that's what I'm meant to do in life. But I think that having doubts about your passions are normal. Having doubts is apart of being human.

Doubting things helps us keep our decisions in check. If you decided to go through life without questioning decisions, then I think that you'd end up in some pretty dumb situations. Doubt helps us rationalize our lives and realize what is important.

Even though journalism is stressing me out, there is no other career I could see myself being happy in. Journalism lets me talk with people, be creative, and educate myself. It allows me to do what I love in life, which is learning while connecting with others. I think that this stress is just a bump in the road, but I know that I'll make it to the end.