From the moment we are old enough to know what careers are, we think about what we want to grow up to be. Usually every kid starts huge with dreams of being anything from a doctor to the President of the United States. As we grow older we realize there are so many jobs to pick from, especially as we get to know our hobbies and strengths. We can be chefs because we love cooking, accountants because we’re great at math or even the local ice cream truck driver (not kidding, that was my dream for a while), because who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by ice cream and happy kids all day?
Around middle school, kids often start taking tests that determine the best major and career for them. We still hardly even know how to talk to people we like and we’re supposed to know what to do for the rest of our lives?
High school rolls around and it starts hitting people- I’m going to college in four years. There is so much pressure to not only know what you want major in when you get there, but also to take classes and be involved in things in high school that align with you career goals.
Courtesy: The College Helper
Then you’re in college and you need to know right then and there what you are going to do forever.
Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t.
I entered Florida State as an Exploratory major, which is a very nice way of saying I have no f-ing clue what I want to do. Being an Exploratory major gave me the opportunity to do exactly what the word says- explore my options, and I could not have loved it more. Being undecided going into college often gets a bad rep. It shouldn’t. College is the time of our lives when we are supposed to truly figure ourselves out. Learn who we are. Find our passions, and realize what our hearts crave to do for the rest of our lives. If it keeps you in college for an extra year in order to finish your major since you started it late, so what? You’re doing what you love, and that is completely worth the time.
There were many factors that had me change my major five different times before declaring my final decision, which didn’t happen until right before my junior year. Five majors changes in two years. That’s a lot of change, but it all needed to be done in order to get me to where I am now, and that’s absolutely in love with my major.
Sometimes you just have to take a class for a major and realize you hate it. Others you might be head over heels in love with a major but something gets in the way, such as GPA, time crunch, or you weren’t accepted into its separate school.
That is okay.
Courtesy: My Degree House
If I had not gone through all of these majors I would not be an Editing, Writing, and Media major. In fact, I would not even know that I could write at all, and I definitely would not be writing this article.
No one should ever just pick any old major because they feel pressured to make a decision. Everyone should be absolutely in love with what they are doing. If you don’t love it, if the courses don’t interest you and make you want to learn everything there is to know about that topic, then that major may not be for you, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Sometimes choosing your major takes time, and sometimes you know as early as you can talk. Either way, everything will be fine. And you know what, if you end up not liking your major after it’s too late to change, or you’re walking across the stage for graduation realizing that is not what you want to do forever, it’s still not too late. So many jobs don’t necessarily want to see that you majored in that field, they just want to see that you got a degree. And if you want or need that degree, go back to college and get it.
It is never too late to change your course to do what you are passionate about.
So find your passion, fall in love with a career and do it big.