To some students the thought of changing one’s major is a daunting task. To others, it’s a simple occurrence. And to many, it’s not even a passing thought.
Yet, at any college, the topic of switching majors isn’t uncommon.
At least 50-75% of undergraduate students change their major at least once before earning their degree, meaning that changing your major maybe isn’t something that should be seen as a “bad” thing after all.
I mean, take it from me, I have changed my major and I have no regrets.
It was my first year of university and I came into college as a biobehavioral health major (yes, I used to be a STEM girl). Now, don’t get me wrong behavioral health was a really fun class that I enjoyed (my minor even revolves around it specifically), but let’s just say I wasn’t a fan of the “bio” part of biobehavioral health (meaning that I was just terrible at biology).
I have always enjoyed environmental science and anatomy, and I had hoped that biology would maybe have a bit of both or something close. How wrong I was.
Cells, cells and more cells were the only things I learned about and I honestly just wasn’t good at learning about them. It got so bad that I ended up having to late drop the class (I haven’t taken biology since.)
But I realized that even though I loved behavioral health, I knew I wasn’t a fan of any of the science aspects of the major or anything science in general.
It was at this time I began rethinking what I wanted to do with my life. Ever since I was a kid I loved to read and write, and in college, it felt as though I had pushed those passions away. I felt that I was trying to pursue a career only for its benefits and not because I loved what I would be doing.
It was a struggle, to come to terms that I would be changing my major, not just because it was something I wanted to do, something I needed to do.
I spoke with my parents had they supported me 100% because they wished for me to be happy with what I studied and whatever career I wanted to pursue. So once I came to the decision, I just needed to realize what I wanted to switch to, and that choice went back to my love for writing and sharing my stories and the stories of others.
I ended up with two choices that would help me to pursue my passions: English and journalism.
In the end, I made the switch from biobehavioral health to journalism, and perhaps you’re probably wondering why journalism. In the end, it all came down to deciding on the path that I believed would still allow me to help people and share the truth to the world and the people in it.
I believe that by studying and one day becoming a journalist that I will have many opportunities. Not saying that English won’t do the same, but journalism was my calling and I had to listen.
I have enjoyed my journey and everything that I have learned so far in my journalism major, and I couldn’t be happier. I came to realize that changing your major it isn’t a bad thing. Instead, it’s a chance to find your passion and where your heart lies in a specific field.
Whether you go from music to engineering, art to physics or earth science to business, changing your major is something that is always an option.
Maybe you’ll go through college never changing your major, or maybe you’ll change it once, twice or maybe a few times, and that’s okay! Finding what you want to do and what you love will always be important, as change is simply just another part of the college experience.