One of the most common phrases you will ever hear in college is “I’m changing my major.” Snaps to anyone who is still on their first major, but for some of us most of us, we may be on our second, third, or even fourth major. For anyone who has switched, you easily understand the emotional toll it can have on you—almost like ending a relationship.
Some majors may be doomed from the start. For me, I started off as a chemistry major, and now all I can do is ask myself what the heck I was thinking. Some of you may have asked yourself the same question about the guy you dated during your first few months of college. He seemed new, exciting, and exactly what you were looking for, but after spending a little more time with him, you realized he was definitely not the right fit, so you broke things off. Sure, it was a little awkward having to deal with passing him on the way to class every time you left your dorm, but with the new spring semester came a new schedule that freed you from his lingering stares as you powerwalked to your 8:00 a.m. bio lab. From then on, you were able to liberate yourself and move on to bigger and better things.
Sometimes you may have a major that you really love and enjoy being involved with. After a while though, just like that boy, it may become too much dang work. It turns into more than you bargained for or is just not what you expected. You can’t spend the rest of your life with that boy and even more so with that career choice. You may try to make it work for a while, but ultimately, something will have to give and that may be your sanity if you keep at it that way. The separation is hard and you often dwell on the thoughts of “What if things had worked out?” or “What if I had tried harder?” You may even feel like you were not good enough, but we all know that’s a lie. It just takes time to move on and accept that change.
Sometimes the transition may be a little sloppy. You will probably have to keep the same classes and just have to tough it out until the end of the semester. Sometimes you can’t escape that ex if he lives down the hall or has the same classes. The time will come though when the year ends or semester changes where you can leave that all behind and move on with your life.
On the other hand, if you’re lucky, you may have a clean break, which is something I am fairly familiar with. I just recently switched from athletic training [which I loved] to mass communication [which I also love]. It really is just a better fit for me.
Because of when I decided to switch, I was able to drop my core athletic training classes and pick up a few general education classes that I needed. I have almost completely cut out athletic training, which was hard, but it allowed me to focus on what I really needed to accomplish—playing catch-up. You may have loved that boy, but you know that things were not going to work out, so you went ahead and cut it short before you both invested too much time in each other. It hurts, but it’s for the best.
Eventually, the right major [or boy] will come along and change everything. Both will make you happy and show you what the perfect fit feels like. Of course, they will required hard work, but in the end it will all be worth it.
Hang in there Collegiettes!
HCXO