We’ve all heard it. “College is the time to make mistakes.” “College is all about change,” and yet, there’s unspoken pressure from parents and, well, everyone, to stick to your commitment. There’s a stigma to switching your major, like you’re letting the entire world down.

So, summer is reaching its end as you prepare to begin your senior year of college. Shit. Adulthood is so close you can taste it. Freedom, a full-time job, what more can you want? It may seem a little late to have a change of heart about your major.

I’ve wanted to be a teacher my entire life. As a kid, I used smelly stickers and a small chalkboard to teach my stuffed animals spelling lessons and grade them accordingly (Yes, I’ve always been a grammar nerd). So, when I reached high school and everyone was feeling the pressure of declaring a major, I was content, for I knew I wanted to teach English. I had my entire life planned out, or so I thought.

I was a secondary-education major for three years, all the way up to student teaching. I was finally ready to take everything I had learned and apply it in the classroom…until I wasn’t. Did I really see myself working in a school for the rest of my life? I had spent my entire life in a school, from elementary to college. I was over it, but how could I tell Mom and Dad?

After putting so much time and life force into my teaching degree, I was terrified to walk away. But in the summer before senior year, I did just that, and it was a blessing in disguise because I’m happy and ready to rock the adult world. I broke the news to Mom, after proving that I had fully considered the pros and cons of my old and new major. Still a grammar-junkie, I had decided to become an editor, and I’m sure about this one (maybe).

It’s okay to change your major. You’re not a failure or a disappointment. Be realistic, and evaluate your wants and needs in life. Find what you’re passionate about, and go for it. Don’t let anyone, not even your parents, hold you back from doing what you love.

Just because you declared a major, it doesn’t mean you’re bound to it for life. A few years into college, you may just have a change in perspective. College opens you up to doorways you never knew were there, so be open minded, and wherever you go, go forth and conquer.