I’ve seen it and experienced it all before. The disinterested look that moves over someone’s face after they ask you what your major is. Then comes the awkward head nod and the feeling that you have to back yourself up. If you’re not going into a science, engineering, or medical field, I’m sure you’ve been though it at least once or twice.
I’m a journalism major, and I get it. I’m not going to get my degree and cure cancer or stop global warming; and that’s fine with me. I didn’t pick my major with those thoughts in my mind. I chose to go into journalism because I like to write. The feeling that I get when I come up with a good idea for an article is one that I wouldn’t mind feeling for the rest of my life. And finishing a piece that I’ve put a lot of thought into and spent a lot of time and energy on is like finishing a marathon. That is why I declared as a journalism major.
Shaming students for the majors that they choose to study is basically telling them that doing what they love will get them know where in life. College is already stressful enough. We tell a group of eighteen year olds that they need to pick something that they want to do for the majority of the time they have left on earth. Meanwhile, most of these students don’t even know what they want for dinner that night. College is a time where you’re supposed to move away from what you’ve known your whole life and figure out who you are and what you want. If you’re a parent, I sincerely urge you to support your son(s) and/or daughter(s) in whichever field they choose to study because believe me, all they want is your approval. I’ve been lucky enough to have parents that support my major 100 percent. In fact, if it weren’t for my mother and father, I’d probably still be an undeclared major twiddling my thumbs outside of my advisors office.
So this is my message to incoming college students, as well as current college students: take your time. If you don’t feel passionate about anything in particular, go to an advisor for help; that’s what they’re there for. Don’t feel pressured to go into a science/engineering/medical major just because that’s “where all the money is.” Doing something just for money will not guarantee your happiness, and in the end, that’s all the really matters. Find something that interests you. Take the first year to really figure yourself out. I was undeclared my entire freshman year, and looking back, I wouldn’t have done it any other way. When you finally figure out what you want to study, make sure it’s something that excites you. It should challenge you, but don’t let those challenges ruin the passion that you have for it. Whenever I’m sitting at my computer, struggling to come up with an idea to write about, I try to remember how good it feels to get my ideas out for the world to see. By just doing that, I remind myself why I am studying journalism.
Whichever major you are, you cannot let someone disregard your passions. If you're passionate about mechanical engineering, then keep at it. Don't let the cringing "good luck with that" faces scare you from continuing with it.
For all of my fellow journalism, communication and english majors, keep reminding yourself why you chose your area of study...and make sure to make a boat load of money in the future to prove all of those people wrong!
