Senior year of high school was overwhelming. Fun, yes, but overwhelming. There were a million questions you had to answer, but one question that was always in the back of my mind, one question that was always asked during holiday dinners and on college applications was "What major are you going into?"

First off, I was 18, so how the heck was I supposed to know what I wanted to be? Choosing a major is very important and I was nowhere near ready to decide on the field of study that I would be pursuing for the rest of my life. I knew one thing though, that I wanted to major in a field that I loved, but most importantly, I wanted to major in a field that made a difference. I knew that if I had a job that made a difference, then I would never be unsatisfied.

Now, fast forward one year and here I am, 19 years old and in my second semester of college—and an undecided major. You heard it folks, I am still an undecided major. And it is completely OK to be an Undecided major. I know during senior year you feel pressure to figure out the next stages of your life, but don’t worry if you do not know what you want to study. The truth is, students change their major all the time. We are too young; there are so many experiences that still remain unknown to us. There are so many paths to explore and the amazing thing about being Undecided is that you are free to try different things.

If you are anything like me the thought of having the power to choose all of my classes terrified me. I mean, college is expensive, and here my advisor is telling me that I can choose whatever classes I like. I am a perfectionist, and I like to follow the rules, so having the freedom to choose whatever I pleased was simply insane. If there is one piece of advice that I want you to take away from this it’s that you should pick classes that you love. During my first semester of college I felt a need to take classes that filled certain requirements, classes that did not interest me at all, one of which I hated and struggled with so much so that I dropped it in October. So when you enter college and are given the opportunity to choose your classes, think wisely. And when I say think wisely I mean think about what you want. Do not think about the classes you think you should be taking, do not think about taking classes that simply fill requirements, and do not listen to what your friends or parents say. College is your time to figure out who you want to be. So think about your interests, and your passions. Explore courses and if a class name jumps out at you, then try it, because chances are you will find something that you love. I decided to take a Communicative Sciences and Disorders class because I felt that speech pathology could be a field of study that I would like. Turns out, it ended up being my lowest grade…but it was my favorite class. I absolutely loved it and now I can happily say that I am about 83 percent sure that I want to major in it. Notice I did not say 100 percent because there are still so many interesting options to explore.

So, whether you are applying to colleges, enrolling for classes, or simply just pondering what you are going to do with your life: the key is to just relax. Listen to what your heart desires and to what your mind craves. Find an area of study that gets you excited to learn more. Think about an area of study that would make you happy to pursue for the rest of your life. Do not think about what your parents want you to major in because this is your life not theirs. For example, don't pursue dentistry simply because dentists make a lot of money. Pursue dentistry if you have a passion for chemistry and find it intriguing to work on people’s smiles. Anyway, do not worry. Everything will work out the way it’s supposed to, it always does.