One of the reasons why I stuck with a major that I hated was because I was scared. I was scared to major in what I really wanted to because of what other people thought. Before I even started college, I knew exactly what I wanted to major in. I started to tell people and they would always say, "You're never going to get a job with that major" among other things. Instead of ignoring them, I let it get to my head. I let other people's criticism make me major in something that I could not imagine doing for the rest of my life. I let other people tell me how to live my life when I should have been living it myself.

In the end, it's your life. Just because a major doesn't make a lot of money doesn't mean it's a bad career or job field. Money doesn't mean happiness! Honestly, I don't care how much money I make in the future. All I care about is doing something I love. What's the point of waking up every morning to go to a job that you hate?

We are so young. When we enter college, most of us barely just turned 18. We are then forced to pick what we want to do for the rest of our lives. But sometimes it is so hard to decide what you want to do forever when you barely experienced life yourself.

Change is a good thing. Instead of running away from change, we should learn to embrace it. If you know deep down in your heart that the major you are currently pursuing is not for you, why bother sticking it out until graduation? Take a risk, and do what you love. And if you do not yet know what you love, that is perfectly fine. You will find it, I promise.

One of the reasons why I didn't change my major earlier was because I felt scared. I felt scared to tell my parents that I didn't want to continue with my major because I just felt like I wasn't good enough. I tried to make myself like my major, I tried to convince myself that it was for me when it just wasn't. My mother is a nurse practitioner and I was planning on being an occupational therapist. I felt like I should be able to do this and that I should like it. But we are not our parents, and that is perfectly okay. My mother is brilliant, and more of a science person. I am not a science person and that is perfectly okay. it doesn't make me less intelligent than anyone else. People's brains are just wired differently sometimes. Some people excel in science while others do really well in English. And that is just fine.

Feeling like you are not good enough is not okay. And I pushed through it because I thought things would get better, but the truth is that they didn't. I never expected things to get easier, not by a long shot. I now have so much respect for any kinds of health science majors and the insane amount of work you guys put in. I have the utmost respect for everyone pursuing any major. Being on that track just wasn't for me, and that's okay. Some majors aren't for everyone.

When I started to think about my future, I couldn't picture myself as an occupational therapist. And that terrified me. It made me worry that there was the chance that I could wake up 20 years down the road and realize that I made a terrible mistake.

Despite this, I still did not change it. I was afraid to change majors because of the chance that I didn't like it, it didn't make any sense or that I made a mistake and should have never changed it at all. I ended up changing my major this summer, less than a month before I was about to start my sophomore year.

I looked at my schedule and something in me cracked. I finally was able to look at my life with complete, utter clarity. I am not a science person. I never was a science person and never would be, not in a million years. So why am I majoring in this? I realized that I haven't really felt happy in a while, and I just blamed in on the stress. But all of the stress I had was because of my major, which I didn't even like. Freshman year was miserable for me, class wise. I would have multiple breakdowns a week, especially the days where I had a quiz or test in anatomy and physiology. I drove myself insane all for a major I hated and never wanted to really major in the first place. My stress was through the roof, and I thought that was normal. I thought it was okay, but it wasn't. I was almost making myself sick because I kept telling myself that it would get better, when deep down I knew that it wouldn't.

The day I changed my major to journalism and my minor to public relations, I felt like a huge weight was lifted. But changing my major did not exactly make things easier. All majors are difficult, every single one of them. But it made my life easier. The first week of classes, I was scared again. I was scared that I wouldn't like it, that I made a horrible mistake. But I loved it. I looked forward to going to each of my classes for once, and that was such a beautiful feeling. I finally felt like I understood and that I was somewhere I belonged.

The truth is I am still scared. Scared that I won't be successful, scared that I won't get a job, scared that I will have to run back to my parents with my tail between my legs, a complete failure.

But being scared is not a bad thing. it's a motivator. It makes me want to prove everyone wrong, everyone who said that I would never succeed, never get a job, or be good enough.

But to all of those thinking about changing here is the truth: you will succeed. You are good enough. Do what you love because you love it. Don't do something for the money or because people want you too or try to tell you what you want to do is silly. It is your life, your beautiful life which does not belong to anyone but yourself. Don't wake up at 80 with regrets that you should have changed your major. Live your life, it is yours after all. Do what you love. Just do it.

I feel like I am finally exactly where I'm supposed to be, and it's beautifully terrifying but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I finally found what I love. I finally feel like I can breathe. I finally feel like I found out where I belong in this beautiful, crazy world.