When I left high school and headed toward my freshman year of college, I knew exactly what I was going to pursue. I had the rest of my life planned out ahead of me. I was going to declare myself as an English Lit major by spring quarter, go to grad school, pursue a Ph. D, and teach college-level literature at a university. This lasted until the end of winter quarter after I took a poetry class with a professor who turned out to be my favorite professor of all time. I had always loved writing poetry, but his class took my writing to an entirely new level. I felt confident in my writing ability, so I switched and declared myself a creative writing major, poetry emphasis. I would also pursue a Ph. D to teach in college, and continue writing and publishing.

That pursuit lasted about another quarter and a half, until now, where I’m now a pre-major for journalism on the news editorial track, hopefully to be my real major soon. If you find my major-switching to be a little excessive, keep in mind that I’ve done it less than average. The average college student switches their major three times.

For a lot of students, this is a huge source of stress in their life. The kind of, “Oh

God, what am I going to do with my life” stress, which I certainly went through. But, despite however much second-guessing you might do, remember that there is always a reason why you originally decided to switch majors. You shouldn’t feel any obligation to stay in a major that might be soul-draining, which leads to another big source of stress over switching: parents.

I have too many friends to count that are stuck in this dilemma: their parents are dead-set on them being in a certain major, and they hate it. They can’t stand it. Every class they take is awful. It makes them want to curl up at home and binge on Netflix. The most common things said are along the lines of, “They’re paying, so I have to do what they want,” or, “they’ll be so disappointed if I switch.” Those ones make me sad. It’s undeniable that parents always want the best for their kids, and often think they know what’s right for their children. But being stuck in classes they hate, only to later take a job they that they hate, is rarely what’s best for them. Students stuck in a major they hate will tend to have worse grades due to a lack of motivation and interest in the topic. So, in case you have the kind of parents who might be upset at the news that you're switching majors, I wrote a template for your convenience. Feel free to use it, and hopefully your parents will understand.

Hey Dad/Mom,

I’ve decided to switch majors from ______ to ______. I know you’ve always wanted me to study _______, but I’ve taken enough classes to realize that this isn’t the right subject for me. I really don’t feel any passion for this subject, so my grades aren’t as good as they could be, which also means that if I stayed I’d have to do a fifth year, and I don’t want you to have to pay more. I hope I’m not disappointing you, but ________ is my passion and I want to pursue it. I love you and miss you!