From the day I started seriously thinking about college, I knew in my heart of hearts that I wanted to pursue a degree in English. I absolutely love to read and write, and I have never received a grade below an A on any writing assignment or in any English class throughout high school, so why wouldn’t I major in it? It just made sense to me. Why would I not do what I was best at? But then this quarter, I took my first English class here at UW. And I absolutely despise it.
I tried to force myself to enjoy the class for the first 2 weeks, but there was not one fiber of my being that found the material to be engaging. I wanted to skip class as time went on, and I was struggling to not pick up my phone every couple of minutes over the 1 hour and 50 minute period. This led to me looking into the other requirements in order to attain the English degree, and I was upset by what I was reading. Almost every class had a painfully similar description to the one that I was currently enrolled in, and I quickly realized that this path was not for me. This now posed the question of what the hell I was going to do. My go-to plan that I’ve had for years was gone. So, now what?
This realization, while stressful and inconvenient, made me do some deep self reflection. Just because this area of study came so easily to me doesn’t mean that it’s what I’m meant to pursue in life, meaning that the easiest path isn’t necessarily the one I should take. I have plenty of other interests that I’ve never fully dove into, but now I have the opportunity to do so because I’m not completely fixated on this area of study that I’d been romanticizing for years without ever actually experiencing it first hand. Life is all about ~figuring it out~, not just settling for what feels like won’t be too hard. Be sure to know the difference between passion and what you’re just naturally good at. There’s a big difference.
I know that I’m definitely not the only one going through this awkward phase of not knowing what I should be doing with my life. And even though it’s a little scary, it’s fully okay! If you’re like me, go into Spring Quarter with a new perspective and open mind, excited to discover what other passions you have. There’s no growth without challenage, and no self discovery without exploration. After all, we’re still between the ages of 18-21. It’s normal to not have it all figured out. Trial and error, baby! We got this.