The average lifespan of a white female in the United States is about 81 years old. Now, taking into consideration I am currently 19 years old, this means I’ve lived almost 25% of my life already.

After finishing college and getting a job, I’ll spend approximately 43 years working (if I graduate at age 22, and hopefully retire by age 65). By age 65, I will most likely lose much of my energy, and my quality of life will decrease dramatically compared to what it is now. By age 65, I will only have approximately 20% of my life remaining.

So why do I throw all of these numbers in your direction?

The vast majority of our lives we spend working, so why do so many of us spend our lives in a career we don’t enjoy? For the money?

I imagined a future in which I stayed on my current path of a neuroscience major on the pre-med track. Although this is realistic in finding a job post-graduation, it was not realistic as a way to breed happiness.

So I changed my career path. I changed my major – a bold, but necessary, move changing from neuroscience to journalism.

Even though I had only recently decided on this change, I can already notice a difference in excitement for the future and my career - a feeling I had never encountered otherwise.

For the students too afraid to change their majors due to parents or teachers pressuring them, do not let one person dictate how you will spend the majority of your life. They are not the ones having to suffer through another 9-5 workday in your position.

It's okay to change your major, especially if it will boost your happiness.

Working in the Student Outreach Center for the Office of Admissions at the University of Minnesota has really opened my eyes as to the prevalence of this issue. As a student outreach representative, I call prospective students and ask them a series of questions about their involvement in high school, academic standing, and possible college paths.

After prompting them with the question of what they wanted to study in college, to my surprise, many of them would start the sentence with something like, "Well I'm very passionate about art, but since I know that's unrealistic, I'll probably pursue a career in business instead."

And does it ever make you wonder how many talents are being wasted because of this? Because students are choosing to spend half of their life in a career that will allow them to be financially happy instead of mentally happy? It's honestly a tragedy.

In high school college preparatory courses, instead of channeling the focus on careers that will make the most money, we should help students recognize their natural talents and passions, and cater to those needs to help them grow and succeed.

If you're hesitant about changing your major, follow your passion. Follow your heart. Make sure you're content spending over half of your life in that career.

I will leave you with a quote that states,"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."