Dear freshman who’s not sure about their major,
Seriously, it’s fine.
You’re expected to know exactly what you’re going to do with your life. You’re supposed to have a plan, and if you don’t have that plan, then you’re going to be wandering around in the dust while your classmates get ahead and take all the jobs.
Right? Right.
Wrong.
Look, the people who have everything figured out often end up changing their minds at some point. The rare few that don’t — and that’s a very rare few, keep in mind — probably have a head start, but they’re not going to swallow you whole.
You’re going to make a lot of changes, and you’re going to make a lot of choices, and you’re going to regret a lot of them, but you’re also going to be absolutely glad you made others. And maybe the major you ticked off on you college app won’t be the major you stick with. Maybe you’ll go into a career that has absolutely nothing to do with your major. Maybe you’ll change your major five times in your first year alone. And okay, that last one’s going to be a lot of paperwork, but aside from that none of these are bad things.
So breathe. Relax. You don’t know what you’re going to do with your life. You don’t have to.
The most valuable things you get out of your college experience will have very little to do with the name of your degree. It’ll be your experiences, whether that means memories with friends you’ve made or work experiences that will impress a hiring manager during your first big job interview. It’ll be the clubs you joined, it’ll be the knowledge you learned, it’ll be the network you create.
If you honestly are unsure what you want to major in, then take classes. Go to Career Services or academic advising. Use your college experience to figure out first who you want to be, and secondly how you’ll become that person.
In the meantime, try things.
Sure, not having a set career plan may make it difficult to obtain a relevant internship, but if you find campus organizations you care about and obtain leadership positions, that’s something. If you find causes you care about and volunteer, that’s something. If you get a part-time job, that’s something. You’ll have the chance to build your resume regardless of your major, and as long as you keep trying new things and exploring new interests, you’ll find a way to spin it into the story of how you became you.
It’s okay that you don’t know what your major should be. As long as you commit to growing and searching and learning, you’ll have plenty of time to grow and search and learn.
So breathe. You’ve just started college! Enjoy it!
And seriously. You got this.
Image Credits: Ana Madeleine Uribe, Disney, Harry Potter