For most of my life, I have been involved in the arts in some way. I have always loved to sing and learned how to play the piano at a young age, so music seemed like the way to go in terms of skills. I didn’t join the choir until high school simply because I was a narcissistic child who did not want my spotlight to shine on anyone else but me. I joined band in middle school as a percussionist and eventually started taking lessons in learning the drumset, guitar, and bass. So, you get it, I’ve always liked music and the arts. It’s something that I was drawn to at a very young age, and I always thought that I would pursue a career in vocal performance or music production.
But, then I turned 18 and actually had to start thinking about my future. Did I really want to pursue a career in music? I thought about it long and hard and figured out that my answer was no, I did not. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t look down upon anyone who pursues a career in music or the arts. Heck, my boyfriend is a Choral Education major so I plan on having the arts as a part of my life for a long time. I figured out as a senior in high school that if I tried to pursue a career in music, then I would lose my passion for the thing that brings me peace. I love getting to sit down and play the piano or guitar, but in my own time. I knew that my passion for music did not run deep enough to start a career based on it, so I had to start thinking about what I was really passionate about.
My freshman year of college was an interesting one. I ended up starting Fall quarter at the University of Washington but then transferred to CWU after my first quarter because of how intimidating and competitive the learning environment was. I was also a biology major who hated science, so you can see how well that turned out. I have always been a very logic-driven person, so I figured that becoming a doctor would be a great idea! That was until I couldn’t pass basic chemistry classes with anything higher than a C-, so I had some more rethinking to do. What I did learn from being a biology major is that I love math. I had to take multiple calculus classes as a freshman and I really excelled in them. So I started looking into majors with more math-based curriculum and stumbled upon the Accounting major courses. Accounting turned out to be a perfect fit for me and I couldn’t be happier with my decision!
I guess the moral of the story is, don’t be afraid to go outside of your comfort zone. For me, music was my comfort zone and it still is. But, I wanted to pursue a degree that I was passionate about, and now that I’m a year out from graduating, I wouldn’t have done it any other way.
Like this article? Be sure to check out our other features this week!
HCXO