Recently, I received an email from the financial aid office at my school notifying me that since I now have 55 credits, I must declare a major in order to continue receiving State Aid. To be honest, this completely freaked me out.
Now, declaring a major is part of every college student's life and I always knew that. To get a degree, you need to decide what it's going to be in, and declaring a major is how you choose. I just never expected this monumental moment to come so quickly, and frankly to be so anticlimactic.
When I was applying to college, I had intended to major in interior design. I was obsessed with HGTV and found Home Goods more exciting than any other store. I really thought for so long that that is what I wanted to do with my life. That was before I realized that the only way to pursue a career in that field was by attending an art school. I guess I wasn't as sure of myself as I thought because I felt that I needed a more well-rounded school where I had more options if I decided on another course.
That was fine, I came to Binghamton intending to be a graphic design major. This would allow me to be creative and express my artistic side while attending a more well-rounded school. During my first semester, I took an introductory graphic design course and loved it, but realized that I couldn't handle the tediousness and stress of a career in the arts. But, I was in a philosophy class that I also loved and decided pretty suddenly to switch my major to philosophy, politics, and law. I was going to go to law school, or rather I am.
Looking back, writing this, all of my decisions seem actually insane and careless. But, the truth is they're not. I have so many different passions, as most students do. Giving myself the opportunity to explore each one has been a good thing for me. It has shown me what I want and what I don't and it's okay that it's taken me a couple of rash decisions to reach this point; this point where I know what I want.
Declaring a major is scary for me because I'm afraid of wanting to make another bold decision in the future. I feel like a guy who's afraid of commitment because that's literally who I am when it comes to choosing a path in life. But, I think that for right now that's okay. We are still so young!! 19 is so early on in the course of a life and it is totally fine to be afraid to set out in one direction just yet. As of right now (but actually Monday because that's when I will probably jump the gun on this whole major thing), I am a philosophy, politics, and law major hoping to go to law school. Ask me in a few years and I can't tell you what I'll say.
