A few days ago I stumbled across an article on the Odyssey website, “I Chose the Major I Needed Not the Major I Wanted”, and honestly my heart broke a little as I read it. I get that some people may have extenuating circumstances where they feel like they need to choose a major that - so they think - will make them a sustainable income. The unfortunate reality is that it’s a lot harder to be successful at your job if you don’t enjoy it.

“When I sent my application to college, I wrote Health Careers, and for just a second, I wanted to erase it. I wanted to put down English.”

That’s like something out a movie. I can picture that moment in my head: a girl looking down at the paper, pausing for a moment, and turning the page. It breaks my heart. It’s nice to see she is still pursuing writing a little through Odyssey, but I’m rooting for her - pursue your passion!

Life is too short to not do what you want (within reason of course). It’s unfortunate that the world revolves around money, but hey - writers make money too! Look at any famous novelists - they are worth millions.

Nothing good comes easy, but if you like what you are doing, the hard work it takes to be successful is more enjoyable.

If you pursue something you are passionate about, you are more likely to be successful. If you don’t like what you do - you’ll dread going to work and just getting out of bed in the morning. Believe me, I know. That is how I started to feel about my first choice of major.

I chose Civil Engineering because I thought it was what I “needed”: it felt like what I was supposed to do. My Dad worked in the industry for a long time, so networking was a breeze and finding a job after college would be no problem. I was pretty good at math and physics, and plain and simple: engineers get paid well.

After my first year, I was doing okay. My grades were decent, I participated, studied abroad, and was already the president of a club by sophomore year - but I was unhappy.

I wasn’t looking forward to any of the courses in the schedule ahead of me, and something about that felt wrong. The unfortunate reality is that we have a limited amount of time on this planet, and I think we should enjoy it while we are here - ESPECIALLY college. If these are supposed to be “the best years of my life”, I want to enjoy them.

So I took the plunge: I turned in my protractor and calculator for calipers and ethnographic novels. Changing my major to Anthropology was not an easy decision, and it certainly wasn’t something I had “always known I wanted to do”.

One year later, I enjoy the reading assignments, thoughtful discussions, and never miss a lecture. If that’s not proof enough, my transcript shows it too. I have managed to raise my GPA every semester not because my courses are any easier (definitely not), but because I like what I do and actually try to make more of an effort in class.

I hear too many of my friends talk about what they would rather be doing, and it’s disheartening. While I can’t tell anyone how to live their life, I want to encourage everyone to pursue their passion. More passionate people make the world a better place - better doctors, engineers, writers, actors - it’s a win-win all around really.