Yay! High school is over, and now it’s time for college!
The sound of college made me so excited. I was looking forward to a new environment and a fresh start.
That being said, college daunted me. The thought of not knowing anyone as an out-of-state student and feeling like I had to get my life together and figure out what I wanted to do scared me. It always seemed so extreme that people went to college and picked one major and career path to do for the rest of their lives.
As I picked my journalism major during my freshman year, I was excited to attend college and thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
After my first year at the University of Missouri, I felt content, but something was missing. I couldn’t grasp what this could be, as I thought I had finalized my college plan. During my first semester of sophomore year, I still loved the idea of journalism but didn’t like how I was executing it. So, I made a change.
Last week, I changed my emphasis from writing and reporting to strategic communications.
I realized I love being creative with my work. I understand you can still be creative with journalism but it wasn’t in the way I wanted it to be.
I then dropped a class journalism newsroom class I had been dreading to start since before Winter Break and got moved into a writing class. I was eager to start a new class with something I was passionate about. Although I’m not in the strategic communications class I originally wanted to be in due to credit issues, I enrolled in a creative nonfiction writing class where I am writing, and learning how to be truthful through nonfiction.
Even though I was worried about making this change which is a smaller deal than I thought, I was anxious.
I thought I was screwing up my graduation plan, causing me to add an extra semester to my education including adding a minor in sociology. I thought there would be more credit issues that wouldn’t make me a full-time student.
After talking to advisors and getting guidance through my decisions, I realized that everything was going to be okay. I am on my path to success and that isn’t dictated by others. Even if I did have to take classes for another semester or even a year, who cares?
If it was my senior year and I decided to change from journalism to pre-med, that would be a different story. Unfortunately, there may be other circumstances, but changing something about your education doesn’t dictate who you are.
As I am now a second-semester sophomore, I know that I don’t have my life figured out, and who knows, I may have another chance somewhere in the future, but what I do know is that change is good, and if there is no change, no situation will ever progress positively.
It can be scary to enter the unknown but it’s never too late to make a change, especially when you aren’t happy.
Imagine following through with something you don’t want and doing that thing for the rest of your life.
I can’t imagine being a broadcast journalist and on camera with all the attention on me, so why would I continue to enroll in classes that have those aspects?
By being a strategic communicator, I can work with companies and still get my name out to the world, just in a way where I’m not in the camera’s spotlight.
So, if you’re looking for a sign, let this be yours: if you’re not happy with your major, minor, or emphasis, take a breath. Think about the change you want to make and execute it.
Your life is determined by you!