Every college student has a personal story with finding their major. Many went into college knowing exactly what they wanted in their major, many started without with a major but then changed it, and many still don't have one. The process of declaring a major takes time, and often is challenging, but can be very rewarding.
Recently, I declared my major to be anthropology. I am super excited to start out my journey as an anthropologist and know that my school's anthro department will help put me in the right direction, even if I do not ultimately stick with my major. It was a process that I am glad that I partook in. Here, I am going to reflect on my personal story with finding my major, and some tips if you need help declaring one.
Growing up, I was never sure of what I wanted to do. Not only is my father a career counselor, aka the expert in not knowing what you want to do, but my parents both have three degrees each, and changed their jobs multiple times during adulthood. My mother just recently began a new job as well.
Thus, having grown up in a home where the topics of careers and colleges were constantly discussed, I had a fear of declaring my major. I didn't want to end up in the same boat as my parents, constantly switching my majors and job focuses because I hadn't found the right one. I didn't want to keep disappointing people when I thought I had found my proper career path, and I certainly did not want to tell people what I wanted to be when I grew up.
Along came the time to start applying for colleges. Due to my lack of a major, when I looked at schools, I didn't have a program to look into for when I applied there. I was initially thinking of women's studies, but as time went by, that interest began to dwindle. Thus, when I applied at schools, I didn't have as many opportunities to look into programs and classes. And since I only applied to three schools, I had even littler opportunity to look into my career path. Sometimes, I still worry that I should have gone somewhere else.
I chose my school for multiple reasons. They gave me an awesome scholarship, were right in the heart of my city, my parents had gone there, and I knew some faculty and staff. Plus, after I applied, I was accepted into the honors program, giving me further reason to go there. I was saving money, and had so many people who wanted me to become a part of their community, more than any school good.
As classes began to approach, the nervousness heightened. During orientation, I was surrounded by kids who had picked what they wanted to do and what direction they were going in, and being asked about my major made me super anxious. It didn't help that I was in an all new environment with all new people, either.
My advisor was the director of the honors program. Before the start of classes, my dad and I visited him to try and figure out what I should be doing. Being able to make that connection with him before anyone else definitely helped, but I was also going to have him as an instructor for an honors seminar. I felt much more at ease after I spoke to him.
Classes started. Two of my courses were honors classes, a requirement for staying in the program, another was a writing class that I needed to take as a gen ed. The other three, I picked on my own. One was a sociology class. I enjoyed reading about the topics and seeing sociological perspectives on various issues, but I decided it was not the major for me. Another class I took was a career class, taught by a friend of my father's. It was small, only met once a week, and had six or so people in it, but we did plenty of work. Many of the assignments in that class related to personality tests and how you as a person can find work based on your interests and strengths. I enjoyed learning about myself and how I could fit into the working world, but I still wasn't sure what to declare my major as.
My anthropology class, however, completely blew my mind. I had an interest in the subject long before college, so I knew I wanted to take an anthro course even before school had started, to delve deeper into my interest.
The class did not disappoint. I was absolutely obsessed with all the material, and thoroughly enjoyed taking the notes for the class, did all the extra credit, and would sometimes look back on the online materials for what we learned, as I was so fascinated with it. The class was specializing in human origins, and every day I looked forward to doing the in class labs, as we often had castes of various bone structures and models of ancient artifacts. It also delved into both physical anthropology AND archeology, and both areas I loved to learn about. Even on the day of my final exam, I had barely enough time to study due to me getting sick, but I still managed to come to class late, AND get an A on the test.
Anthropology was definitely a possibility for me to major in. But, I still wanted to make sure that I didn't go completely headlong into it without checking out other topics.
So, second semester rolled around. I had another honors class, a math to take as a gen ed, and a choral class for fun, as I love to sing. I took up three classes to help find my major. Psych 101 was one. A long and complicated subject, the class gave me a lot of reading materials and various tests. It's an interesting class, but I decided I didn't want to major in it. However, many of the topics of psych went along with my other classes, and I definitely enjoyed my experience with it.
Next was communications, specifically the media. I excelled in that class. I knew so much about the media from personal curiosity, and I liked the lectures in my class, as my professor would often show us photos and videos of the subjects, and we would frequently discuss current events. Some of the more nitty gritty of the class did not interest me as much, however, such as the topics of public relations and journalism's role with the media. Though, despite all that, I could definitely see communications as being my minor, due to my strength and interest in the subject.
And lastly, I took the next anthro course available for me. I wasn't sure about it, as I feared it would be too different from my human origins class, which I loved. But, to my surprise, I loved it just as much as the first class I took. The subject was on culture, and every day I looked forward to learning about some new culture I had never heard of, and how it could relate back to my American world. Plus, all the videos and photos my professor showed completely astounded me. I had finally figured it out. Anthropology was definitely the subject for me.
Declaring my major was a complete weight off my shoulders. I had found the community and subject that had called to me long before college, and everything I had worked so hard for had become a reality. If you don't have a major yet, though, don't fret. Here are some of my tips to help you get started.
Set up an appointment with a career counselor. It's their job to help you figure out what your calling is, and they can help put you in the right direction.
Take LOTS of gen-eds. As simple and unnecessary some of them may be, you never know if a certain subject will end up fascinating you and intriguing you to move further in that field.
Take a class in a subject that interests you. Even if it's not a gen ed, if you are enjoying yourself, chances are, that subject could potentially be your major. You never know if a simple hobby you have can direct your future.
Don't feel the need to declare a major right away. I know it may seem that everyone around you has a major, but the fact of the matter is, they were at one point in the same position as you. Focus on yourself, and take your time.
Enjoy yourself. College is a time for self-growth and discovery. Don't work yourself so hard because you still haven't found your niche. By doing things that you enjoy and can have fun with, you will grow so much more as a person than you could if you attempt something you dislike. Time you enjoyed wasting was NOT wasted time.
Everything will work itself out in the end. Your school, your major, and most importantly, you. Don't forget that college is only the gateway to the working world, and only you can help find the major that will take you there.
