I don’t know what I want to do. Yes, I have declared a major, but I don’t know if I want to be sitting in a cubicle designing for a large company, yet. I don’t know what I want to do.
Ever since I was little, everyone would ask me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” At that point, a giant smile would be plastered on my face and the usual answer was either “Barbie” or “a doctor.” Then a few days later, the answer would change. It was an ongoing cycle. Then Junior year in high school quickly came and the question of what I wanted to be when I grew up was transformed into, “What do you want to major in?” This question quickly became a serious one. So serious that every time someone would ask me what I wanted to do, I became even more unsure of myself. It wasn’t that I wasn’t interested in anything, but it was a question of what I wanted to do every day for the rest of my life. Hearing that at eight and hearing that at eighteen was extremely different.
It has now become normal for students to go throughout high school stressing over grades and GPA, only to reach college completely lost and confused on what they want to pursue in life. Students become weary over continuously switching majors and eventually end up in the advising office switching their major to something else. Over and over again, I hear friends, including myself, saying, “I don’t know what I want to do. I like this, but I also like that.” What if this is something we shouldn’t be stressing over? What if we don’t need to know exactly what we want to do right now?
According to Liz Freeman from Butler University, 20-50 percent of college freshman enter their college career undecided. Furthermore, about 75 percent of students change their major at least once before graduating. I have a strong feeling that if colleges required Sophomore year as the year to declare a major instead of Freshman year, students would not be as stressed over this decision.
My advice to the student who is still deciding on what they want to do in life, is to get involved and explore as many options as possible. Another option is to combine interests. For example, if you are really interested in art, but want to also learn about psychology, there are schools that offer Art Therapy as a major. Job shadowing can also be a very eye-opening experience. I have known people to shadow someone in a career that they were certain they wanted to pursue, but at the end of the process, they knew it wasn’t for them. On the other hand, people come out unexpectedly loving a certain career. Go into something that interests you. The amount of money that you will be making from it can be factored in later.
Overall, a major is not a career. There are multiple paths a major can lead you down. Explore options and get involved. Dive into new experiences, but don’t rush when choosing what major is right for you. Everything will fall into place, even if you feel lost at this point in life.
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle.” — Steve Jobs
