As it comes time to go back to school, college students begin to dread the slog of long papers, dim classrooms, and late nights that will inevitably follow the return to college. In the midst of this slog of coursework, many of us will be in major-required classes. As those classes force us to lose sleep, steal our weekends, and drive us to the edge of insanity we may, in a serious way, reconsider our major itself if not college entirely. If you don’t know this feeling, then you can stop reading here. You have found exactly what you are supposed to be learning and are probably one in a million. Congrats!
If on the other hand, you are among the multitudes of collegiate thinkers who after a few classes, a few semesters or a few years begin to worry they have made a terrible mistake. Who wonder if their decision to dedicate long hours to study biology, literature, mathematics, drama, geology, political science, communication, or economics is really their best choice. Who start to doze off in classes they once found fascinating. If that’s you, keep reading.
When you first picked your major, you probably picked it because of a real interest in the topic of study or because you thought it would be your best option to get a job you could love for years. After tough classes and late nights, as the excitement of that initial decision faded, and time has separated you from that first big dream, you probably have stated to see your major as simply an inevitable, unalterable facet of your life.
To many college students are longer in love with their major, but instead feel they have no other choice but to force their way though the grime of classes they no longer really feel passionate about. They have stopped believing they will be able to get the job they really want or that finding their passion is even possible.
If this is you, quit.
College is a four-year experience that you only get to choose once. After you graduate, you don’t get to change your major and it becomes harder and harder to explore new areas of knowledge. Don’t let these college years slip away from you while you trudge through the mirk of a major you no longer love. Don’t become that Type-A person who kept on working though their classes years after the spark and passion were gone. Don’t let yourself slide slowly into a field of work that you care nothing for. Don’t become another person with a “day job” just to pay the bills.
It can be hard to consider uprooting yourself and changing course, but if you don’t do it now, when can you again? There is a galaxy of courses out there to study, so branch out. Pick up a class you don’t need to take. Find an inspiring professor and take their class just because you can. Search for something that sparks your passion again, just like that first time you fell in love. Don’t let your college years get away without finding that passion.
“You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” — Steve Jobs
