When I was first starting college, I felt this insane pressure to figure out exactly what I wanted to do with my life. Part of that pressure came from picking a major. At 18 years old, I was supposed to decide what I wanted to study for the next four years and what I wanted my career to be. At the time, choosing psychology felt like the right choice. I’m passionate about helping others and mental health, I work well with people of all ages and I thought the scientific study of the mind and behavior was extremely interesting. I’m also the type of person to have my life planned out for the next 10 years. So when I started having doubts about the career path I was on, I was freaking out. But changing your plans isn’t a weakness, it shows growth.
After I picked psychology, I felt really good about it. My first year I took Introduction to Psychology and Abnormal Psychology and loved both. I thought I was exactly where I needed to be. But when I looked into the future, I didn’t have any idea what I actually wanted to do with my psychology degree. I always pictured myself working at a school, as I had previously wanted to be a teacher. So, I leaned towards school psychology.
Part of this comes from the fact that my mom is an elementary school teacher. Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be just like her. She used to take me to school with her, and I would help set up her classroom, play with the kids and sometimes even lead a read-aloud. Other times I’d help her grade writing or math assignments (which, for the record, I took very seriously as a 12-year-old). Those moments weren’t just fun, they sparked something in me. They made me realize how much I loved being in that environment and how natural it felt.
Over this past summer, I started really thinking about what I saw myself doing long-term. At one point, I even considered switching to communication arts and becoming an editor. But every time I closed my eyes, all I could see myself doing was teaching. Once I realized that, I couldn’t ignore it. Even though it was already the end of July, I decided I had to make the change before I got any further into a degree I didn’t want to pursue anymore. It was scary, but it also felt really freeing.
The truth is, it’s normal to change your mind. You’re not “behind” just because you changed directions. You’re choosing something that aligns with who you are now, not who you thought you were going to be at 18. And honestly, isn’t that what college is supposed to be about? This is the time to figure it out, not to have it all figured out. For me, choosing education over psychology gave me an unexpected sense of confidence. It felt like the first time I was making a choice completely for myself and it showed me that I’m starting to figure out who I am.
In this stage of life, no one has it all mapped out and that’s completely okay. What matters is being honest with yourself and willing to change direction when something no longer feels right. Switching my major reminded me that it’s okay to change your mind, especially when you’re still growing into the person you’re meant to be.