Looking at the title, I can almost guarantee that more than half of the readers sighed and thought to themselves, "here goes another annoying girl ranting about girl power."
That thought wouldn't be 100% wrong. Girls are awesome, smart, and are perfectly capable to do whatever they set their minds to. I, however, am not going to skew this article into a male bashing sesh, because men are also awesome, smart, and are perfectly capable to do whatever they set their minds to -- they just have more freedom to do so.
Whether it is inherent or societal, girls tend to shy away from math/science related majors. This was made apparent to me when I was 1/2 girls majoring in computer science during my orientation.
I hadn't always been set on this major, and I'm not going to lie when I say it had something to do with the fact that I didn't think I'd be good enough to do it. I wasn't doubting my intelligence or determination, I feared how I would be perceived by my peers and professors.
Me, a small, blonde girl, who always wears pink and is obsessed with Apple, is not taken very seriously let me tell you. People always assume that I'd be better as a teacher or nurse, despite my vast knowledge and interest in computers. I always thought of my interest as something I'd sport on the side, while pursuing a career I wasn't as passionate about.
I feel like a lot of girls are or have been in the same position as me. This honestly makes me kind of sad. Thankfully, I was able to realize what I truly wanted to do with my life and stopped thinking of all the different reasons why I shouldn't. But, what about all of the girls who haven't made this realization, or who are still in limbo thinking about all of the "what if's?" To you: what if you become the best in your class, what if you find a well paying job that meets your passion, and what if you genuinely love what you do.
The best advice I could give anyone (in my total inexperienced, novice to adult-life opinion) is to do what you really love. No matter how much it pays, no matter how far it pushes you out of your comfort zone, do it.
As said by one of my favorite humans of all time, Steve Jobs, "It's really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time." If you spend all of your time, your most precious resource, doing something you only like for a paycheck or because you feel it's more socially acceptable, you're doing it wrong.
Do something that pays your heart and brain and makes work not feel like work. Then you'll know you did something right.