Picking a major: the looming decision that each college student dreads making. Although some students have a seemingly easy decision and have known what they want to do with the rest of their life since they were a child, I have not had a simple journey. I have gone from wanting to study engineering, pre-med, pre-law, communications, journalism, architecture, to a long list of other fields of study. It seems like everyone has a career plan and yet here I am, a sophomore in college, struggling to figure out a general area of study. I go to a university with pretty much every major or minor I could possibly choose from, yet I continue to sit in advising meetings after taking career quizzes online and reading course bulletins in search of the perfect career path. So what is it that makes choosing a future so hard?
I have concluded that there is not any one reason. For me, it’s the idea of being stuck in one job for the rest of my life. The idea of waking up one day when I am 40 years old and my life being a never ending carousel of the same thing every day is truly terrifying.
The bottom line is that no one really knows what they’re doing. Everyone is figuring it out day by day, and that’s okay! It’s hard for everyone and no one actually has a definite plan. Start small and you will find direction. Talk to people who know and want the best for you. The most important thing is that you don’t rush into anything. Take your time, figure out what it is that makes you who you are, and go from there.