I want to start this by saying: it’s completely alright not to know what you want to study. It’s okay to be in a state of uncertainty. It’s okay to be unsure of what’s going on in your life. A state of insecurity is totally normal because everyone is on a different path if life. Some people have it all figured, and others don’t. It’s that simple.
Students everywhere feel the pressure of choosing the major they want to pursue. Since you’re a little kid, the question of “what do you want to do?”, “who do you want to be?” and “what do you want to be when you grow up?”. As you grow up, the questions don’t stop. The new questions circle whether or not you’ll pursue higher education or career-wise or anything really. All these questions about who you want to end up making you feel that by 18, you need to know who you want to be.
Take it from me; when I began my first year of college, I had an entire plan. I was going to study political science so that I could become a lawyer. This plan flew right out the windows because I realized that wasn’t going to work for me. Now, I’m in my third year, and I’m changing my major. There have been some people that have told me I’d wasted all this time. The truth is: I didn’t! Those two years in the wrong major set me on a path of self-discovery. I realized that being a lawyer isn’t what I want to do for the rest of my life. I really should study a topic that ignites my passion. I also learned a lot about myself and how sometimes we need to let go of the pressure that “time’s running out” or that you need to graduate in four years because it’s not true.
Sometimes, we’re the ones that are putting this unnecessary pressure on ourselves. We see other people thriving in their choice of major and feel bad because we’re not doing the same. You shouldn’t compare yourself to others; just because they’re already successful doesn’t mean that you won’t get there. Take this time to really get to know yourself to the point that you’re able to say, “This is what I want to do.”
The future is unknown, and, for some of us, the uncertainty of not knowing where your life may lead is scary. I find it fascinating because it means that if we let go of the pressure that we all experience, we’ll be able to worry less and enjoy where we’re at right now.
I watched an episode of SNL, and in one of them, Leslie Jones said: “You know what happened to Oprah at 23? She got fired. Imagine firing Oprah. It wasn’t a mistake. Because she wasn’t Oprah. She was just some 23-year-old punk who needed to get fired so she could become Oprah.” Seeing Jones talk about this, inspired me in a way that led me to think that we’ll become what we want to become, it just takes time. Instead of focusing on other things, focus on you. YOU’RE the leader of your life, and nobody else will know you and what you need better than yourself.