People always say that during your freshman year of college you will change your major multiple times. I used to think that I would never be someone to do that; I knew what I wanted to do and I would stick to it. Little did I know just how little I knew.
Freshman year hasn't even started yet and I've already decided to make a huge change in what I thought was going to be my career. This decision has opened my eyes and helped me realize that it's perfectly fine to not know exactly what you want to do by the time you are 18 years old and that it's perfectly fine to change your mind. Having a change of heart does not mean you are a failure, nor does it mean that you have wasted your time chasing something that came to an end.
When I was around 13 years old, I decided I wanted to be a professional ballerina. All I wanted to do was go to class every day and improve so I could one day be on the big stages. Performing to me was heaven every single time. The adrenaline rush and high energy were incomparable to anything else I'd ever done. I had my mind set on being in a professional company and nothing was going to stop me...
...until now. I thought I was going to push college back until my dancing career was over. That was the plan. That was my only plan.
However, things took a turn. The rush of adrenaline during performances was replaced with fear and self-doubt. My drive to improve started to fade as I realized I was only working to make the teacher happy with me, rather than doing it for my own good. The thought of going to class at 9 a.m. on Monday morning filled me with dread rather than giving me a purpose. I knew this wasn't how it should be, and something needed to change.
I had to change 'majors' in a sense because I decided this was not the path for me anymore. My new path features a college degree with many new experiences along the way, and I couldn't be more excited.
At first I was scared, as a life in ballet was all I ever knew. I was scared that I had wasted all this time in my life doing something for nothing but I realized that every moment had a purpose. I learned discipline, focus and time management. I've had to figure out how to deal with stress and pain, both emotionally and physically.
But I also got to experience what is was like to live a life for something I was passionate about, which many people aren't able to find. Although my passions have shifted, I will never look back and regret any amount of the time I spent or sacrifices I made.
This was a tough decision, but one that I believe is for the better. Now I get to learn about a new passion and gain new experiences along the way, possibly changing my major one more time. But that's perfectly fine.
