Going into college, I honestly had no idea what I wanted to do. I chose a major in English because writing and reading were things I was good at, and things that I liked-for the most part. I spent my first two semesters in college hating what I was doing in class, with the occasional enjoyable essay assignment. Although I enjoyed writing, I couldn’t envision myself making a career of it. Sure, everyone wants to write for a great magazine or newspaper, or become the next Stephen King. But I knew the likelihood of that being me was small, and that really bothered me.
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Over the summer, I got an internship with a newspaper. To be honest, I didn’t enjoy it. I loved writing, but not the way that I was doing it. But what else would I do? I was never someone who was definitive in my choices, and changing your career choice is huge! But I went into my third semester of college with the same major, hoping that I would begin to enjoy things. Sadly, I didn’t.
As I started to think about changing my major, I became really scared. What would my parents think? What would my friends think of me? What would this mean for my 4-year college plan? Was this really such a good idea? Changing your major in your fourth semester of college isn’t something to blow off.
After a long conversation with my dad, I realized that none of those things mattered. If I knew I wasn’t going to enjoy what I was doing, then why do it? It’s a bigger waste of time and money to studying something you’re not interested in, than it is to change your course of study and stay in school longer. And the classes that I had taken in English could still apply in the future (I hope to still write creatively on the side). The road ahead for me might be stressful and scary at times, but isn’t it worth it to do something I love?
Change can be really terrifying at times. But don’t let that hold you back. There’s a stigma against people who change their majors a lot, but why? What’s wrong with realizing that you want to do something else? There is absolutely no shame in wanting to better yourself and your path. If you want to change what you’re doing-go for it! College is the time to realize what you want and go after it! So don’t be afraid to work for what you’re passioante about-even if that means completely changing things around.