If you go to Lehigh, it’s likely that you have many interests. You were probably captain of your sports team, an avid member of the debate team, had an overwhelming amount of community service hours, and managed to find time to ace all of your exams. But, in college, sometimes you feel forced to do one thing and one thing only, and that’s your major. You have all of your extra-curriculars surround around this field of study. You only become close with the professors in this department (since, obviously, you’re fishing for that beautiful letter of recommendation that will land you that dream job). You even find yourself only going to the library with people in your major after a while. There isn’t anything wrong with these things but, without vigor, this process can become dull and boring. You might even hate your own major by the time you graduate.
The one way to avoid this is passion. Don’t listen to people who say “You’ll never make money with that job” or “You’ll be stuck in a cubicle for the rest of your life”. Honestly, they don’t know what they’re talking about. There’s a way to make money in any field if you have enough zeal and fervor to try your best in whatever you do. As a double History and English major, I sometimes want to give in to my grandparents who keep saying “Just go to Law School! You’ll get a good job and make more money than you ever will teaching those middle school brats.” But, what they don’t understand is that I’m doing what I love. I go to class every day interested in what I’m learning and I’m not just wasting my parents’ tuition money playing Flappy Bird in my lectures.
Choosing a major is hard with all the pressure students feel from parents, family members, professors, the media, and even their own friends. However, I’ve managed to find exactly what I love at Lehigh, and that can happen for you too. So here are the three best questions to ask yourself when looking to pick a major and they’ll help you find just exactly what you love.
1. It’s a Friday night and you’re done with all your homework. What is your ideal night if you could go anywhere/do anything?
I know this is a pretty generic and boring question that no one wants to answer, but it really does help a person realize their own social tendencies. If you like cuddling up in a blanket watching Netflix every night, then maybe choose a creative major like Fine Arts, Film, or Creative Writing where you can spend a ton of time by yourself with your own thoughts. If you would love to travel around finding new things, maybe business is a good route for you since it requires you to meet new people and travel to new places.
2. Do I like to work or just feel like I have to work?
Now this is a question where you should be honest with yourself. If you honestly love to investigate things and find the answer until all of your energy is taken up, maybe a career that requires an immense amount of effort and research is a good match, like Engineering or Psychology. But if you’re not so much of a worker bee, maybe a career in a field that can be done mostly from home, like communications, is a good fit for you.
3. What do you really care about?
Feel like you need to save the world from the Global Warming? Environmental studies may be your fit. Care about the welfare of children? Maybe consider teaching or becoming a school counselor. Can’t get your mind of off the rights of others? Pre-law may be where you belong. Look deep down into your heart and consider what you really care about and what you’d like to deal with every single day. Your job should be your passion, not something you settle for.
In whatever major you choose, make sure it is something you love. If you don’t love what you’re studying in school, there’s a slim chance that you’ll love it in the real world. There’s no better feeling than working hard in school to better your future and towards a goal that you’ve developed yourself. If you go to Lehigh you have the potential to do anything. But make sure that it’s exactly what you want, not just what you or anyone else feel like you need. You can change your major millions of times, but you’ll eventually have to graduate with a degree in something, so good luck and happy major hunting!