I recently made a life altering decision that I never expected to make. I have wanted to be a veterinarian my entire life. I had never thought of another career and I never pictured myself doing something different. I had occasional doubts but I ignored them. A few weeks ago, I started paying attention to them. A few days ago, I decided to go a different direction. I changed my major to agricultural education and decided to become a teacher.

I worked at a vet's office over the summer and I loved it. I loved working with the animals and I found everything we did to be interesting. There was only one aspect I didn't like. I didn't like the feeling of stress. Knowing that an animal's life depends on you is not a fun thought to have. I started questioning whether I wanted to experience that feeling everyday for the rest of my life. I'm not sure that it would be a wise thing to do to myself. I don't have the assertive personality that a veterinarian needs to succeed in emergency situations and I would feel awful if I let my personality get in the way of saving an animal's life.

The problem was, I still loved veterinary medicine and I still wanted to be involved in the field. That is when I thought of teaching. I always admired the job my animal science teacher had and the impact he had on my life. I would love to be that person for somebody else. That is why I have decided to teach agriscience and specialize in animal science.

When I decided to make this change, my fear almost got in the way. I was wondering what people would think and how my entire life plan would change. I almost talked myself out of my decision. I would have kept up with my plans and regretted them in the end.

Don't be afraid of change. Change is always scary whether you know it's the right decision or not. We are creatures of habit and the concept of changing these habits is almost too scary to contemplate. Unfortunately, this fear can keep us from making some of the best decisions of our lives.

One of my favorite sayings is "If nothing ever changed there would be no butterflies"-Walt Disney. This saying couldn't be more true. If we don't make changes and take advantage of every new opportunity that comes our way, nothing good will ever happen to us. Our lives would stay boring and would never have the opportunity to become bright and colorful.

Next time you are thinking of making a change, try not to let fear get in your way. Always go with what your heart tells you. You never know if that change will be the best decision of your life.