When I was a senior in high school I took an intro accounting class. I had a 100 average the whole school year and did really well in the class. I thought I had figured out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I came to Scranton as an accounting major, and I finally took my first class as a sophomore. I didn’t do very well in my economics classes, but I just kept telling myself it would be better once I started taking accounting. I was dead wrong. I was taking statistics and accounting at the same time and I was extremely overwhelmed. I had to drop my stats class and was struggling really hard in accounting. I was failing every test, none of the material made any sense to me, and I felt like nobody could help me.
The stress of failing this class got to me so much that I just chose to fully ignore all my classes. I started partying all the time, not caring about anything, and stopped going to class. I was in full denial. I knew there was no way I would pass the class, so I gave up. I look back on this time of my life and call them my dark days. My roommate at the time was a strategic communication major, so when I finally realized I needed to switch my major I asked her to explain to me what strategic comm was all about. It sounded like something I would love to do, so I started going to the public relations club with her and I loved it.
I decided to switch my major November of my sophomore year. Knowing that I was going to be switching into something I would enjoy doing helped me get inspired and start trying again. My dark days were finally over! Hallelujah! I ended up failing the accounting class as I expected. My parents were furious with me and said I had one more semester to prove myself, and that I could do this or else they were going to take me out of school.
I came back to Scranton for spring semester and I did a complete turnaround. I loved all of my classes, and everything started to make sense to me. I actually enjoyed going to class and learning because I was so interested in what my professors had to teach us. I got involved with more clubs and really immersed myself in the communication department.
Changing my major was the best decision I have ever made for myself. I overcame a lot and I’m proud to say I will now be graduating as a strategic communication major with a focus in public relations. Don’t be afraid to switch your major – it’s totally normal. It’s OK to not succeed in what you thought you wanted to do when you were 18-years-old. It’s fine to not be a doctor, a counselor or even an accountant.
You need to find what fits perfectly to you. None of us can say we’re the same person we were in high school. College is all about living and learning, and now is the time to do it.