When I was a little kid, all I wanted was to be a singer. I dreamed about going on American Idol and becoming the next big star. While that sounds fun, as I got older I realized I had to find a more, uh, realistic career. Throughout high school I went back and forth between politics, science, writing, history, and so many more. All of these things interested me but one thing that remained constant was my love of animals.
Now hear me out, I know that so many people love animals. Almost everyone had a beloved pet while growing up and it is hard to find many people that don’t think dogs are just the cutest things in the world. However, I have always been drawn to animals of all kinds, and I thought I could make a career out of it. I have always loved science, but never excelled in it. Despite that, I decided in my senior year of high school that I wanted to be a veterinarian.
College comes around, and everything is all well and good, until I discover that I am not in the right major to fulfill the pre-vet requirements. I switch my major, and the same thing happens again (way to go advisors!). After three major changes in my freshmen year, I was finally in the right major. Or so I thought.
Throughout the year I struggled with many difficult science classes, and I knew that it was only going to get harder from there. At the end of the year, my GPA was lower than it had ever been before. I had a hard time this past summer coming to terms with the fact that I simply had not excelled as a student in my first year of college, which was something that always came naturally to me in high school. After some long, hard thought throughout the summer, I started to wonder if maybe the reason I switched my major so much was because I was looking for a satisfaction that was never going to be found there. Maybe I wasn’t meant to be in the sciences after all. I frantically began looking for new careers, new majors, and new classes.
After much deliberation, I started the process to change my major for a fourth and (hopefully) final time. I am now applying to be a communication major in COLA. I have no idea what I want to do with my life anymore, and that is a scary, looming thought that hangs over my head every day.
I’m sure you are wondering why I told you all of this. Well, I want you guys to know that you are not alone in your worries about the future. That it may be disheartening to not get the GPA that you hoped for, but that doesn’t mean that you failed. The number of your GPA does not equal your intelligence, and it took me a long time to realize that. Also, do not be ashamed of being undecided, whether about your major, your career, or both. We are so young now, and there is plenty of time. College is the time to try new things and find a passion that you may never have known about. So, be patient with yourself and understand that you will find your thing, your passion, your drive. You’ve got this.