Whether you're ready or not, finals season is here and with it comes the end of many freshmen's first full year of college. Chances are, it was full of ups and downs, and hopefully, you got to enjoy some of it, as well as have a little fun. Many of you may already have a career path figured out, an internship lined up and your next three years at school planned to a T.
However, amongst the perfectly planned ones, there's definitely your fellow students out there with not a clue what they still plan to do or study. While freshmen year is an acceptable time to be in that between major decision limbo, the longer you hold out the harder it is to graduate "on time" with all of the proper classes finished. You're probably starting to feel the pressure from your friends who have their major all planned out or maybe your family at home that keeps pestering you with questions.
If you don't know what you want to do, that's OK! Making a decision that will have a tremendous impact on the rest of your life is not an easy task. Just thinking about the weight of your major declaration can be an extremely scary thought. It's definitely not a decision that should be taken lightly, so if you are taking a little longer to figure it out, don't feel bad. Everyone discovers their goals at different times and don't feel pressured to take on a major for the sake of everyone else, but decide for yourself.
Hopefully, you can use the summer to reflect on the courses you enjoyed and maybe didn't enjoy after your freshman year, and use those experiences as a catalyst to explore and look in majors or jobs that you think you'd enjoy. Using the summer months to reflect is a great opportunity to do some research, talk to people, and maybe find something that you really enjoy. Starting your sophomore year off with a great new perspective will go a long way towards letting your sophomore year be more productive than your freshman year.
Likely, you still have three years to finalize your path. If you know a general area that you're interested in, start taking classes for that, talk to the professors or advisors from that school or major, and put a renewed effort on that search. Don't be afraid to try a class outside your comfort zone either. You never know what you'll discover by just trying new things.
