I’ve known that I wanted to be a teacher since I was 10. I loved school, my teachers were amazing, and learning was just so… fun. I knew I wanted to be an English teacher at 13. I had the most inspiring, funny, and quirky Language Arts teacher who taught me a lot about how learning should always be like. I knew that I wanted to be a high school English lit teacher at 16. The books were amazing, analyzing characters was a blast, and it was the easiest class I took.

And then I got to college.

The thing about being told you’re “smart” almost all your life is that it makes you complacent. And when you find out you’re not… well, it’s like the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets scene where Harry and Ron run smack into a solid brick wall instead of passing through it.

Have you ever walked into a room, looked around, and thought all of these people are smarter than me? That was how I felt in my very first English lit class in college.I enjoyed this class immensely, really. But, about three weeks in I was starting to feel…inadequate.

I’ve never been the girl to dive into classics headfirst and analyze plot and literary devices… for fun. (Yes, I know people like that). I lean towards fantasy and YA literature almost 100% of the time. Almost nothing about my habits, personality, or preferences says “English major” except for the glasses and a slight tendency to correct people’s grammar. I’ve never had a justification for wanting to be an English teacher except: I love books and It just feels right. So, after about three weeks of this class, it didn’t take me long to start questioning my chosen major, career, and future.

I began asking myself if I could actually do this. Am I smart enough to major in this? Would I even be a good teacher? One paper in one class, was making me question something I had wanted since I was 10. I felt rudderless. Unprepared. Because...

If I wasn’t meant to be a teacher… what was I meant for?

It took a while to accept that the plan was not going to go exactly like I thought it would. Is it okay to do less than stellar in classes you need for your degree? Yes. Are you obligated to love every single class you take in order to get your degree? Heck no. Does that mean you should toss away your dream of becoming a neurologist or a forensic pathologist, or a teacher? No.

Moral of the story? Just because a wrench gets thrown in your grand plan, doesn’t mean you should lose faith in your path.