For the past two years or so, I have been set on being a nursing major. I really thought that was what I wanted to do... but things changed and I changed my major. I had to learn that it's OK to change your mind.

I'm a officially more than a month into college. Things are going okay, I'm very stressed about my major, my classes, getting good grades in order to apply to nursing school next year, my sophomore year. To be competitive for nursing school, you have to have a 3.5 GPA or higher. Well guess what? Where I went to high school, there was no such thing as a GPA. There were written evaluations rather than an "A-" or "C+" on your English paper. So this whole GPA thing is brand new to me. And it's stressful. I'm having a hard time in some of my classes. And frankly, I don't even think I like them anymore. I don't even think I want to be a nursing major anymore. I really wanted to work in pediatrics, but what about cancer patients? What about the elderly? Could I handle that? Probably not. I really didn't want to change my major, though, because I feel like if I do I have failed at something I've been wanting to pursue for the past two years. I really want to pursue a career where I'm helping people and making an impact on peoples lives. I'm sad, I'm tired and I'm confused... so what now?

I had to come to the realization that changing my major did not mean that I had failed. It simply meant that I was figuring myself out. It meant that I had critically thought about my future and what was going to make me happy. It meant that I was really thinking that whatever I choose to major in in college will be the career that I have for the rest of my life. So, what did that mean? It had to be something that made me happy, (which ended up being human development and family studies). And I very honestly, wasn't feeling very happy with the major I was in. So what if I didn't become a nurse? I love children and pursuing birth-kindergarten education sounded like the perfect fit. Kids make me happy. I didn't feel all of the stress with this major either, especially since it didn't have the same type of super high GPA requirement like nursing did.

I hate that I made myself feel like changing my major meant I was "failing". I think a lot of other people have this mind set too and that's why people are nervous to change their major. Honestly, after I filled out the paperwork to change my major, I felt like all of the weight off of my shoulders was gone. My stress and sadness and anxiety was finally going away. I didn't realize until after I changed my major that I had been so consumed by trying to be a major that just didn't work for me. I really hope if you're reading this article and you're considering changing your major, please know it's okay. Please not you haven't failed yourself. You're young and you're still trying to figure things out. Please know if like me, if you're even hesitating, that probably means you don't want the major you're trying to pursue bad enough and you're better off trying something else. So what if the one you switch to doesn't work out either? Switch again, or even switch back if you miss your old one. College is supposed to be the time you learn about yourself. It's supposed to be where you find out who you are and what you want to do with your life. It's where you decide what kind of impact you want to make, big or small. So please, if you aren't happy with your major, or you're struggling, consider switching. It was one of the most relieving feelings in the world.