Choosing a major may be one of the hardest things you have to do in your college career. Personally, I changed my major 6 times and across a bunch of different fields of study. Sometimes I still don’t know if my current major is what I am meant to be doing, but every time I doubt myself, I go through a few steps to reassure myself that I am exactly where I am meant to be.
- Don’t be stubborn! If you aren’t happy with your current major and you can’t see yourself in a career in that field, leave! No one can force you to stay in a certain major and your freshman year is the perfect time to experiment with classes across a variety of academic fields.
- Talk to your advisor! Your freshman advisor is the perfect person to talk to about your doubts. They can give you advice on what courses to take to expand your world view and expose yourself to knowledge that you may not have previously held.
- Go to the Career Center! Fordham has a great spot to go if you don’t know what you want to do in the future. If you go to the Career Center and tell them your interests, they can give you advice on major options, as well as minor options.
- Do what you think is best! Sometimes we all worry about what our loved ones and peers are going to say about our major choice. Personally, as a Philosophy major, I was extremely scared to tell my family and friends of my choice. We worry about hearing, “what are you going to do with that?,” “how are you going to make money?,” “how will you ever have a house?” Fortunately, my family is extremely supportive of my choices, and your family and friends may be too! But don’t worry about what others think! Make sure that you are trying to make yourself happy, instead of making others happy. This is your life and you have to live with these choices for the rest of your life, so do what you want!
Being a college student is hard and finding a major is even harder! I know so many people that came into college without a declared major, or even people like myself that changed their major a ton of times. The key to being happy is not focusing on what other people want you to do, but rather on what you yourself want to do. So, go out there and live the life that you want to live! There are people here at Fordham that are ready to help you decide your major and life path, so take advantage of them. No matter what, your life and future isn’t set in stone yet. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and change your mind because it might be the best thing you’ve ever done for yourself.