Many things have changed in my life while being at school, but one thing that has been pretty set in stone from the start is my major, Communications. I came into school with a decided major and a pretty clear path of where that was going to lead me. I’m now a junior, and of course I’ve strayed from my path and at times even added extra obstacles, but it was all in the name of reaching my destination. So what the heck was I to do when the thought of entirely scrapping my major popped into my head?
My main interests have always been in the fashion industry, and more specifically in public relations, magazine writing, and social media within the industry. When I was a sophomore, I actually ended up adding a second major, Journalism, to my plate and used it to complete a concentration in public relations. As I slowly complete more credits and fall deeper and deeper into my course load, I find myself doubting the path I have taken. In many ways, I have found myself creating comparisons between myself and my peers.
I’ve fallen into this unbreakable cycle of judging myself by others’ achievements. Some of my friends have had internships in their desired fields, some have had summer jobs that they’ve dreamed about, and some are even employed post-grad with amazing companies. So what have I done? What have I spent the last two years doing? Now I don’t mean to sell myself short, because I too have had summer jobs and completed internships, but none have been in the fashion industry. So I started thinking, what if all this time the path I’ve been on is never-ending? Or even worse, what if I’m on the wrong path entirely? Did I make a wrong turn? Or miss an exit?
After overthinking and overanalyzing, I’m still left with so many unanswered questions, but what I do know is that no two people will ever go down the exact same path. We all have different privileges, different obstacles, different talents, and overall different timing. This is what makes college amazing and frustrating at the same time. We are given so many tools, resources, and options to choose from that it can often be overwhelming. At this point, the conclusion I’ve come to is that this is the time to change your mind. So change your major and then change it again, because when will you ever be granted the time to do that later in life? I don’t know about you, but I think I’m going to follow my path and maybe make a couple of turns along the way.