“That’s a big jump”, people usually respond when I explain that I am no longer a pre-med major, but now wanting to peruse a career in journalism. My reasoning is that I got caught in the trap, but I got out of it.
When I say, “trap”, I mean the trap that many fall into that starts in high school, middle school, even earlier for some who embed their definition of success to their children at an even younger age. The “trap” that makes many think that the only majors that yield success are pre-med or any other health profession, law, engineering, etc. It sucks that I got trapped, but it would have sucked even more if I never got out of it. Imagine if I came to the realization that being a doctor wasn’t for me in my third year of med school, or even worse, when I was already a doctor. So much time, energy, and not to mention, money, wasted.
The thing is, I’ve felt as if I was in the wrong major for a bit, but the truth is, change is scary. After countless hours of studying, countless hours in the neurology lab, countless hours shadowing other doctors, deciding in your senior year that it’s no longer what you want to do, is scary. However, it was when I couldn’t answer sufficiently why I wanted to be a doctor when I realized that this was not for me. Anyone who is perusing a career as a doctor knows that in order to be successful, you must be 100000% committed as well as passionate. So committed that there is nothing else you can see yourself doing, and I was not in that place. The only answer that I could come up with was that I want to help people, and I wanted to make a good living (silly me, so many ways to make a good living).
Once I came to the conclusion that my reasoning for wanting to be a doctor was not a good enough one for a lifelong decision, I did some deeper searching for what exactly it was that I wanted out of life: to be happy. I basically came to the conclusion that I want a life where I am always learning and helping others with or by spreading my knowledge. I want a life filled with experiences, have it be traveling, attending cool events, or meeting inspiring people. I, of course, also want genuine happiness according to my, not society’s, definition of happiness. Lastly, I want to inspire people.
The next question I asked myself was what I was interested in? I hadn’t been following the signs thrown at me all throughout college. The fact that I yawned and struggled to keep my eyes open in my biology classes, but sat front row and wide-eyed in my sociology classes, means something. I am interested in and have an appreciation for all forms of art: music, fashion, photography, film, literature and I love to write. I have an interest in people. I have an interest in different cultures and in travel. I have an interest in learning about anything new and spreading valuable knowledge to others.
The last question I asked myself in reflecting was, what skills I am good at or what skills I can see myself excelling in? I always was a great writer, as in I made bank in high school writing papers (shhh). In addition to that, I am great with people. I can walk up to anyone and strike an enjoyable conversation about anything. Talking to people and listening to people is everything to me. The people skills would have been useful for bedside manner, but that’s about it in the medical field.
All in all, my goals, interest, and skills did not match the path I was previously on, however, it matched perfectly with my new path as an aspiring journalist. Now, I love my classes, I dream about my future and am all around just happy and excited daily. If you are on the right path, when you change it, it should not feel as if a weight has been lifted. With that being said, I am weightless. I encourage everyone to soul search before committing to a certain life path. Don’t do anything in life for prestige, because you think it's what you should be doing, or for approval from anyone else. Do it for yourself, and most importantly, don’t fall into the trap!
