When we were younger, it wasn’t an uncommon thing for us to change our minds often: on what we wanted to eat, who we were friends with or which color crayon to use next in our drawing. One of the hardest questions to provide a concrete answer to, though, was what we wanted to be when we grew up.
Perhaps one minute we wanted to be a princess, and the next we wanted to be the President. If it wasn’t a doctor, then it was a cheerleader; if not an astronaut, then a chef. The list could go on, and despite the cuteness of a little one’s indecisiveness regarding their future aspirations, the level of cuteness begins to decline dramatically once we actually grow up and are still unsure on what the hell we want to do with our lives.
I found myself in this latter boat when I recently decided to change my major from biology to biochemistry. Sure, it wasn’t a huge change, but that decision alone was one of the hardest I’ve made yet as a young adult. The reason why it was so hard to make: I thought I had it all figured out.
Then, after completing my first semester of college, it wasn’t until I had a totally casual conversation with one of my professors when I realized that the major I’d decided on (and had basically written in stone) turned out to not be the best fit for me nor the future career I was aiming for.
I didn’t like the concept of changing my major because, in my mind, I equated it to me not being prepared or me not having the right information beforehand. I wish I’d been told earlier, when I was first declaring my area of study, that a different major would have made me more qualified. I wish I could have avoided the hassle of starting over with my game plan.
There also seemed to be a sort of pressure for us to kind of have our crap together once we entered college. Changing my major scared me at first because I wasn’t only worried that I was making the wrong choice, but also that I’d regret the switch later.
I realized, though, that I won’t know whether this new major is my true, best fit until I give it a try—and, just like when we were little, I realized it’s okay to not have everything figured out. I’m still young and have plenty of time left to change my mind a hundred times over.
I didn’t fail myself, nor did anyone fail me, by having to rewrite my game plan. If anything, it has broadened my perspective to being open to change.
