You may have entered college knowing exactly what you want to do in life. I know I did. At least I thought I did. I was an Early Education major in my freshman year, but as the semester progressed, I realized I wasn’t interested in my core classes. I dreaded going to class, which was a red flag. If you truly love doing what you’re doing, you should be eager and excited to get up in the morning and look forward to what you will be learning in class. My grades weren’t as great as I hoped they would be but even though I’ve never been a straight-A student, they weren’t meeting my expectations. I knew something was wrong. I genuinely wasn’t happy, and I thought I was failing myself, my family and everyone who was counting on me. To be honest, this made me want to take a semester off from college to focus on myself and to find my passion, but that was frowned upon too. It may seem scary and overwhelming when you realize you aren’t in love with your major anymore with an urge to change it, but it shouldn’t be. It’s completely normal and more common than you think. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 80% of students in the United States end up changing their major at least once. If you’re contemplating switching majors, go with your gut feeling and just do it. If you’re doubting yourself or are unhappy with what you are doing right now, do not force yourself to stay in that position. Don’t be afraid to take the step in the right direction, changing majors is completely normal.
After you drop your major, it’s difficult to figure out which direction is meant for you. Here, at West Chester University, the Twardowski Career Development Center has a self-assessment where you evaluate your interests, values, personality, and skills. Without hesitation, I scheduled myself to come into the center and take the assessment. Nervousness overcame me as I walked in. At this point, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t feel as if there was anything that I would be good at, I assumed I was destined to fail. The results of my assessment were shocking. English. English was the first in the list. Never in a million years would I see myself being an English major. I decided to go undecided for the next semester, meaning, I didn’t commit to a specific major. This is a great option to go forward with because it gives you the time to experiment with different classes and find what speaks to you. During this interval, take a wide array of courses – science, history, writing, math, etc. Surprisingly, my writing class was, without a doubt, my favorite. I was happy. I was hopeful. I knew I had found what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and I could not wait to continue through this journey that I never expected I would be taking.
If you are unhappy with what you’re studying in college, don’t wait for things to get better. It’s time for you to take care of yourself and your mental health by changing your major. The weight will be taken off of your shoulders and it will be replaced with relief and optimism. College is a time for you to experiment to find who you are as a person. Don’t spend your four years doing something you don’t enjoy. Drop that class that you’re not interested in, search for a new major that calls your attention, do whatever will benefit you and your goals. If it means going undecided, then go for it. Enroll in classes that seem fascinating and different, this is a time to try new things. It’s 100% okay to change your major, just know, you are not the only one who has gone through this process. Don’t waste this precious time of your life, these are the most exciting years, don’t take them for granted. Allow yourself to grow and go through difficult decisions, the only thing that matters is you and your success that you’re building for yourself for the future.