You never missed class. You did all the extra work in lab. You edited your papers a quintillion times. You studied and went to extra review sessions before each exam. You even went to the extra credit assignment and listened to that visiting professor talk about his research on plant cells for two hours. The grades from first semester were just a fluke right? You're just getting used to college. You'll do better next semester! But now it's the end of second semester and your grades haven't improved. You may be beginning to realize...

Maybe this major just isn't my thing.

But what does one do next after this revelation? I mean, you came to college to become a doctor/lawyer/rocket scientist right? Whats the point of college if I can't make it to med school? I'm going to end up starving on the streets, or living at home with my parents. I'll be thirty-two in my mom's basement eating Cheetos with no job. I'm going to have to sell my plasma to make ends meet and live on knock-off ramen noodles and...

Take a deep breath, my friend. So many people have been in your exact situation. I have been in your situation, and I promise you will survive. Part of college is to find out who you truly are, and what you like doing. This new consideration and small setback are the first steps to figuring out what you really want to do. Here is how I figured it out for myself:

After my first semester freshman year as a pre-med biology major, I came out of Biology 150 with mediocre grades. During second semester, Biology 151 was not treating me much different.

But I got a five on the AP Bio test, I thought. I have to register for classes next week! What am I going to do?

I did not know what step to take next. Do I keep trying? What does this mean? I was beginning to have the thought that maybe this wasn't what I'm meant to do. I did what everyone should do in a high-tension, stressful situation like this.

I got in my car and went to eat a home cooked meal with my grandma.

When I got there, I took a break from thinking about college and my future and just stuffed my face with creamy, buttery mashed potatoes. When I was sufficiently full, my grandma asked me how school was going (I'm convinced grandmothers have a special sense to know just what to say, and when).

The conversation that ensued helped me to figure out what I liked doing most, and how I could translate that into a major and career.

I told her how biology wasn't working out, and how I felt like I was not going to be able to make it through all the science classes between me and medical school.

Then she asked me, "Well, is that really what you want to do?" I remember saying, "I don't know anymore."

We then got into talking about what I really liked, and what I did well in back in high school. The one thing I could remember I had always done amazingly in, and enjoyed, was writing, reading, and English.

What? English?, I thought.

"What could I even do with English, Grandma?" I remember saying.

My grandmother then enlightened me on all the things an English major could do: lawyer, professor, editor, copywriter, reporter, a job with marketing, technical writing, journalism, public relations, a job in the publishing business, and many more things.

I remember sitting down right there with her and plotting out my schedule for the upcoming fall semester. I left that night feeling unbelievably better with a new sense of direction. I was going to study what I was good at, and I was going to survive changing from my intended pre-med biology major.

The point of this story is, before you give up all hope take a breath and really think about your life, both past and future. What things have always peaked your interest throughout life before this? What have you consistently done well in?

Do you like math? You could get a job in finance. Computers? Try out computer science, there are plenty of jobs. History? You could work as an lawyer, archivist, or even a museum researcher. If you can get fully into something you love and find that thing in a major, you will excel in college and find a job.

Changing from your freshman intended major is nothing to be ashamed of. People do it all the time. Be glad that you are not further pursuing something that, in the end, will not be right for you. Sometimes struggling with something you think you want to do is one of the best ways to discover what you need to do. Take a step back and think about the things you enjoy and really believe in. Consider what you want to do, and not what other people say or tell you to do. Think about what you want to accomplish. Try to see the legacy you want to leave behind.

In the future you'll smile looking back at these moments when you found your own answers to these questions, and when you found out how much your enthusiasm and hard work can do for the thing you know you're meant to do.