I’ve always been pretty indecisive. The majority of my choices, including which color I chose to paint my nails today, require so much more thought and consideration than you could ever know. So, when I headed off to college, I had no idea how I would ever select a major. How could I decide, in one fluid motion, the area of study that would define such a big part of my college experience? How would this impact my career choices? What if I changed my mind? Was this another one of those “no takesies backsies” decisions? After floating around in an exploratory major for the first semester of my freshman year, I finally declared myself to be a biology major. I liked science. I always had. I loved going to labs. I loved, as I sometimes still joke “to cut things open.” So it was only natural, right?
Fast forward to the summer before sophomore year. I was following my school’s chapter of Her Campus on Facebook, and they posted asking for new writers. Wanting something different to do besides chemistry practice problems, I willingly sent in an application. Writing had always been one of my hobbies but never something I would have considered pursuing beyond my personal blog. When I received an offer for the editorial position, I immediately accepted. The fact that I had never written for a magazine before, as well as the fact that I had no idea what a “pitch” was totally went out the window. I won’t go into details about how writing for Her Campus went – I’m still writing, after all. I will say this though: it got me thinking.
Even when I was an undeclared major, I had never thought to take any form of journalism course. In fact, I jumped right into science courses under the assumption that I would eventually choose a science major; for all I knew, I just wasn’t sure which science major it would be. Compared to my biology classes, journalism seemed so “out of the box.” After my first two semesters of writing for Her Campus, I began to love writing again. I loved writing and being a part of a team. I started to wonder why I had never considered pursuing journalism. I eventually ended up picking up a minor in the College of Journalism, something I definitely wouldn’t have done in my freshman year.
For the most part, the common thought process is that you should try and join more clubs and organizations within your major. I’m not saying this is wrong. I do think, though, that looking outside of your major can be helpful. Looking beyond my major allowed me to have the opportunity to consider other areas of study, as well as other careers I would want to consider. Regardless of having been an “exploratory” major, I had never “explored” anything beyond different sciences, and this is something I regret. However, joining an organization gave me an insight into my other interests and whether these interests were also worth considering during my time in college.
Your college experience should not be limited to your major. I love being a biology major, and science is one of my favorite areas of study. But, it’s also not my only interest. Colliegiettes, my advice to you is this: Don’t be discouraged from joining a club or organization because it does not relate to your major. Joining organizations on campus allows us to be involved in our areas of interest without being worried about grades and exams.
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