I started college as an undecided major without a clue of what I wanted to do with my future. I watched as all of my friends had their eyes set on business, fashion, nutrition, and more, and for whatever reason I still had no idea. It began to stress me out to no end wondering what I would end up choosing to spend the rest of my life doing. Until I finally realized, it is totally normal and not knowing what you want to do as a freshman in college is okay.
First of all, there are just so many majors to choose from. When I began looking at colleges, my choice was not based on what majors or programs the school had because, again, I had no idea what subjects even interested me. The majors ranged from English to Chemistry to Meteorology and it was just so much to process all at once. I started freaking out and just decided that I needed to choose a school based on other aspects and the pieces would come together eventually.
When I was finally at college orientation, I was placed into random gen ed’s which I was completely okay with because I wanted to try out a few different classes. Until I went into this room where you have to declare your major to the administration and all I could think of at that point was to say “um, history I guess”. (Some quick advice: don’t choose a major just because your mom majored in it and because it was your best subject in high school.)
Once I started second semester and was actually into my major, I truly realized how much I didn’t want to major in history at all. It was so awful for me and I finally understood why people would give me such a weird look when I told them my major. So finally, I started exploring all different options of different majors and career paths based on my school. (Since I absolutely love where I go, transferring isn't a option for me). I fell upon communications, and realized all of the opportunities that could come along with such a broad and diverse major. For once in the past year, I finally felt some clarity about my choices for my future and I have been so excited ever since.
Even though its taken me some time to figure out my major of choice, I know there is a reasoning behind it. I am only 19 years old. I have years and years of life to experience. I know traveling is a must, having a family, etc., but I also know that it really is okay to be undecided at points in life. Who knows if I will even stick with my current major, and who knows if even further down the line, I switch my life up completely. My uncle is in his 40’s and recently quit his management job and went back to school to become a P.A. My family friend in her 60’s decided to retire early and move to Northern Italy. It’s okay to not have a plan for everything that will happen in your life. I really think that just by trying to configure a major for myself, it taught me a valuable lesson about life and the unexpected paths it can take you on.
