When you first arrive at college, it can be incredibly overwhelming to see all of your possible life paths laid out before your eyes on the list of available majors: You could be a doctor, a lawyer, a musician, an accountant, a writer, a teacher, a historian, etc.
No matter the reason you decided to go to college – pressure from parents, academic goals, dream job – be sure not to forget your actual dreams while pursuing your major, even if your dreams seem far-fetched. College is the perfect place to figure out exactly what academic field you belong in best. Of course, depending on your personal strengths and weaknesses, you can eliminate a few ideas right off the bat.
Once you decide on a major, it can be difficult to get through all of your general education classes because you spend so much of your time wishing you were in your core classes, but don’t fret! Each general education course will give you valuable skills that you can use in pursuit of your goals; it’s all about learning to take the good and the bad situations and turn them into life lessons.
So how do you go about choosing a major? Here are three easy ways to help you decide if a major is the right fit for you:
- The topic excites you: If you find yourself sitting in a psychology lecture and you’re hanging onto every word the professor says, or if you’re reading a novel for English class and find yourself unable to put the story down, these may be signs that you should explore the major further.
- Your talents are used well: Your unique abilities can tell you a lot about what sort of major might be the right fit. If you are a gifted musician or a talented public speaker, looking deeper into these fields of study could be beneficial to further strengthening your skills.
- You challenge yourself: Oftentimes in life, we find ourselves wanting to follow the easy paths instead of taking harder routes that might cause us to grow and change. However, a good rule of thumb is that if a topic excites you and your talents are used well, that path you take should also challenge you to become better, not simply stay where you are.
College is a time to grow and learn more about yourself and your talents. Instead of always taking the easy road, be brave and try to challenge yourself in areas of interest!