Let me introduce myself. I am a 20-year-old college student at the University of Virginia. I volunteer with service organizations. I participate in a club sports team. I am involved in a Christian fellowship. I am a psychology major.

Even before I moved into my dorm in the fall of my first year here at UVA, I was intimidated. At orientation, that seemingly harmless, yet terrifying question swirled around as frequently as the introductions between these newfound classmates. “What are you majoring in?” It was inevitable, inescapable, but I had yet to figure out my answer. Half of the people I talked to proudly declared themselves as pre-med, believing to have already determined the course of the rest of their lives. Two years down the road, a large portion of these fellow classmates have found new paths, and that’s perfectly okay.

Coming into UVA, I was undeclared. I started out taking the general education requirements and taking classes that sounded interesting. I started to realize how much I was enjoying my psychology classes and I started to take more. Leaving the doors open at the beginning allowed me to find my path in a natural way, rather than forcing myself down a certain road.

When I decided to officially declare my major, I was worried about the times when people would ask me what I’m majoring in. I was worried about the stigma that psychology is an “easy” major. I was worried that at a university characterized by extreme determination and hard work, I would be looked at as one who took the “easy way.” But I told myself that this was the path that interested me and choosing a different major would mean that these people had more control over me than I did.

Slowly, I have learned to be proud of my major. I know that I am no less than pre-med students because I am a psychology major. I am no less intelligent. I am no less driven. I am no less successful. I didn’t choose psychology because it was “easy." I didn’t choose it because I didn’t want to have to work hard. Quite frankly, I work my butt off.

College isn’t easy. We are all pursuing higher education here. We are all clearly driven and determined to make something of ourselves. Telling me my major is easy will only make me question your authority to classify it as such. I chose psychology because I’m interested in it. I didn’t choose psychology to please anyone but myself. I chose it because I believe it will be a good background to have in my dream career as an occupational therapist someday.

(By the way, psychology is the study of behavior and the mind. Tell me what career doesn’t involve the need to understand the people you are working with. To me, psychology is a good background to have for any career path.)

The bottom line is this: everyone has different talents, different interests, and different gifts to be shared with the world. Choosing a major isn’t about picking the one that will lead to outcomes that involve the most money or status. It’s about choosing the path that will nourish and develop those gifts that you have to offer. In a way, as we grow and choose different paths, we are slowly differentiating ourselves from our peers. We will become more and more different and we will fulfill different roles in society. But these different choices we make are what allow our society to function. If everyone chose to pursue the careers that our society has deemed “most prestigious," our society would be incomplete and many fields would be lacking trained, passionate individuals to fulfill their roles. We need people who follow not what society is telling them to do, but rather what their passions are telling them to do.

Allow yourself to explore before defining your path. Choose the path that speaks to you. Choose the path that will grow your gifts to their full potential. Choose the path you are passionate about. Be content and know that you may not be like everyone else, but the world would be truly lacking if we were all the same.