When I was growing up, I was always told that I had my whole life ahead of me to think about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
For example, members of my family work or worked in the healthcare field, either as nurses, pharmacists, or medical technologists. Some work as engineers. Some served in the military for years and when they left, they work as a bus driver, a social worker, and at the D’Youville bookstore. Another family member works as a teacher working with children with disabilities. From what I know, everyone is or was happy in the careers that they chose. Although I know that I will always have my family, I have a fear that I may have gone to college for, possibly, the wrong career.
When I started to apply for college, I applied to be a sports media major with no minor declared and no pre-profession major declared. After working on a paper for my AP LANG class, I decided to change my major to adolescent education with a concentration in history. I stayed with that until I began to second guess my major, in the spring of freshman year. I continued to second guess my major until halfway through this previous semester. I realized that education was not for me, and quickly got out of it before I could continue. I then switched to a major in history, and at that point, still no minor declared.
It was not until later that I thought about going to law school and becoming the first lawyer in the family. So, I decided to declare a philosophy minor where I would focus on law and politics. I could not be any happier with the major and the minor that I have.
Over winter break though, my mom and I began watching “Forensic Files.” For those who do not know what “Forensic Files” is, it is a show that talks about different cases from all around the world and goes through how the case was solved through forensic science, with fibers or DNA. It was while I was watching the show that I began to think about the possibility that I was attending college for the wrong career. I took a forensic science class back in high school through a local university. I loved it, and I loved learning about the different types of fingerprints, the different ways you can tell someone’s blood type, and so much more. It was then that I began to think about my future career.
I love law and I love understanding our nation’s laws, but I also love learning how science can be used in the court of law. My current thought is that after graduating from here with my Bachelors, I could go back to another college to receive a second bachelor’s degree in forensic science. But I am not sure.
I feel like there is so much pressure on our young to have their futures figured out by the time that they go to college or go to a trade school. I was never sure on what to do for my future career, until I got an idea of the area that I want to work in. But not knowing what area I want to focus on, is a fear that no one really prepared me for. I have always heard that I have my whole life ahead of me to figure it out, and I definitely believe that. But I am worried that I may not have enough time, while in college, to have some sort of idea of what I am going to do in my future.