I came into college with a passion for STEM (at least, what I thought was a passion). In high school, I took every science course under the sun. I even went as far as taking AP biology my senior year, even though I had already taken an honors bio class, because I wanted to “get ahead.” I loved genetics and cells. I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up: a genetic counselor. I wrote about this passion in several college essays and essays for school projects. I entered college thinking that this is what I would do for the rest of my life.
What I didn’t realize is that while I was interested in biology, I was pursuing it because I thought other people wanted me to. I’ve always loved reading and writing. My parents always like to brag that I was reading chapter books at four, but I’m not sure I believe them. In high school, I took several advanced-level English classes and I flourished in them. I really felt like English was where I stood out. I became close with my teachers because I showed true passion for the classes. I was simply too scared to pursue it because of the stigma around English majors. I can distinctly remember my junior year chemistry teacher telling the class that an English major was the most pointless major one could get.
I was scared to make the change. I thought the job prospects were better in biology and as a first-generation college student, I wanted to make my parents proud. What I needed to realize was that following my true passions was way more important than what other people thought. I needed to tune out my chemistry teacher and similar voices. Eventually, I learned how to do this, and in the middle of my first semester, I changed my major to Editing, Writing, and Media. It has been one of the best decisions I’ve made since I’ve been at college.
I realized during that first semester that I needed to do what made me happy. I needed to tune out the people saying this wasn’t something I should go for. I was so scared to make the change, but I was more scared of what would happen if I didn’t. I talked to my parents on the phone asking them what they thought about this change. They told me to go for it, and that they were expecting I would change. Turns out they knew what I wanted to do with my life better than I did. I realized then that I didn’t need to worry about making them proud—they already were. They didn’t care if I was a biology major or an English major, they wanted me to be happy. They really helped me tune out the people saying this was a bad idea and helped me get on the right path.
I didn’t change because of a weed-out class or because I thought it would be too hard; I changed because when I pictured my future, I realized I didn’t want one with biology in it. I was only in one class for my major last semester, and I had already begun to feel burnt out. Trying to get myself to do work I just wasn’t interested in anymore was soul-sucking. Since the change to English, I’ve been much happier. I’ve been less stressed and I am happy knowing that I’m going to be able to do what makes me happiest as a job.
To all of those in a similar boat: change your major. I promise you won’t regret it and you will be so much happier. If I can make the huge leap from STEM to English, you can too. Don’t do what you think you should do, or what others think you should do: do what you are passionate about. The old saying goes “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life,” and it’s true. Since I’ve gone from balancing equations to writing feature articles, I’ve started to feel like I’m never doing homework, I’m following a passion. So, do what you love and change your major.
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