A few weeks ago I was approached by the roommate of a friend with a question:
“When did you change your major?”
I was shocked that it hadn’t even been a year since I had switched from studying Chemistry to English. I had a bit of a nudge toward reflection from this, and tried to remember the state I was in then.
Spring of freshman year my advisor started a bit of an internal crisis when he asked, “Are you sure you want to major in Chemistry?” I then proceeded to spend then next six months considering switching my major. There were some, let’s just call them interesting, conversations with my parents about the switch from a terribly practical major with a defined career path to the most vague major they could imagine. I placated them for a semester with a chem/english double major that I too thought was what I wanted, a perfect balance of practicality and passion. But explaining that to people went about as well as you’d expect. The inevitable follow up question of “What do you want to do with that?” emerged for the first time. No one asks a Chemistry major what they will do with a degree in Chemistry, save their advisors. Strangers and classmates outside your major are more curious the less scientific your major is.
Well, I dropped the Chemistry major as soon as I was confident that I loved English several powers of ten more than I loved Chemistry. Sadly, not soon enough to drop Orgo. Now, I just express my love of science with the strangest two minors for an English major: Computing and Digital Technologies, and Science, Technology, and Values. Pretty drastic, nothing like switching between two disciplines of engineering, but still preserving my love of science.
All was resolved with a happy ending of studying something I love and yes, still being able to meet all my requirements on time, I checked. But now, I get asked “What will you do with your degree?” This gets asked by strangers I give directions to on game days, advisors, and parents on a regular basis. To be honest, I have no idea what my post-graduation plans will hold. Neither do quite a few other people, regardless of the perceived practicality of their major.
But at least I am passionate about my studies. And quite a bit happier now, as well. Research has ceased to be seen as a horrible inevitability, assignments are engaging and manageable, and crafting arguments about books is the best thing ever.
I think I have some basis for talking about switching majors. So, when an acquaintance sparked this reminiscence, she shared that she was switching from a science major to one in the College of Arts and Letters so she could study what she loved. She was smart enough to switch in time to drop Orgo. We then spoke excitedly for an hour about classes and being so happy in our rather intimidating decision. It was worth the months of agonizing over what came down to a simple question: Am I studying what I love?
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