How many students did you encounter at freshman orientation who knew exactly what their major was, what they wanted to do for a living and where they wanted to go to graduate school? How many came in with an eight-semester plan written in color-coded calligraphy on their personal letterhead? A few, I’m sure. I’m also fairly sure they stressed you out beyond belief if you weren’t among them. I’d like to apologize for stressing anyone out, because I was one of them.

I was a Biology major on a Pre-Med track, ready to become a surgeon at a top teaching hospital. I wanted to save lives every day and to have everyone I’ve ever met either be immensely proud or immensely jealous of me. After three-quarters of a semester in college, in the midst of immersing myself in pre-med endeavors, I realized that maybe this wasn’t what I wanted. One day, as I sat in the library for the sixth consecutive hour of drawing Lewis structures, it dawned on me that I wasn’t happy studying this. Sure, I wouldn't be doing general chemistry every day as a doctor, but there was a long road of this sort of unpleasant work ahead of me. I realized that I could be equally happy if not happier in a different career and not have one of the most stressful undergraduate and graduate experiences (not to mention actual jobs) imaginable.

I thought about my childhood, and remembered that the first activity I ever loved was reading. In this major, I didn’t even have time to read (unless you count my chemistry textbook, which I do not). This rocked my world a bit, and I spend many nights awake and stressed, questioning everything I ever thought about my future. I can assure you that while this can be one of the most stressful times in your life, it can become one of the most rewarding. Here are five tips for dealing with this type of crisis.

1. Take a deep breath. You haven’t signed a lifetime contract. No one is expecting you to show up at the job to which your major is leading tomorrow. You have time. Your future will wait for you to catch your breath and drink a glass of lemonade. You’re not helping yourself by being in a state of panic.
   
   
2. Chill out about your grades. Take a look around you. Do you think every successful human being in this country had a 4.0 GPA? Absolutely not. Of course, try your best, but don’t let a poor grade change your mind about a career. This shouldn’t be the sole reason you leave a major. That being said, learning and putting an inordinate amount of stress on yourself are not synonymous.
   
   
3. Do your research. Part of the reason I committed so early was that I hadn’t considered the alternatives. Browse the undergraduate catalog. Pay the majors/minors list a visit. Your major doesn’t even have to remotely coincide with your career. I’d advise you to take some classes that point toward a field you may enjoy, but remember that you’re not picking a job right now. You’re picking a field of study. Pick something you’ll wake up everyday and be excited to learn about.
   
4. Don’t be afraid to do a complete 180. I went from pre-med to journalism. Everyone I knew was caught completely off-guard when I told them. You’re in college to grow as a human being and to learn about yourself, too. This may mean abandoning what you thought you knew or what you thought you loved. This doesn’t mean you need to cast aside everything you believe, but it does mean that it may require you try new things, new classes and new extracurricular activities. This is part of the process. It may seem scary, but it’s worth it.
   
   
5. Remember who you are. You’re not your major. You’re not an email on your major’s listserv. You’re not even your resume. You are your passions. You are how you treat others. You are what you love, and what you’re good at. For me, that was psychology and writing. For you, it could be anything. Chase it. Love it. Remember that the only person who has to truly deal with the choice you make is you. Not your parents, teachers, friends or significant other. And in the end, when college is over and this is all a distant memory, I truly hope that your future is everything you could have wanted, even if it’s not what you thought you wanted from the start.