Just when you think you’re out of high school…
As a current sophomore here at UW-Madison, I’m really starting to get sick and tired of taking general education courses. I have finally committed to a major and feel like I’m heading down the right path. Everything is lining up for me except for my gen eds. You’d think they’d be a breeze or an easy A, but that is not what I am dealing with, and let me tell you why.
Before coming to college, I knew that I was going to be required to take general education courses. And I was actually okay with that, as I was coming into my freshman year undecided. My first semester I took your general English, math, psychology and nutritional science classes. During that time I came to the realization that I wanted to pursue design and fell in love with interior architecture. So I pushed on with my current courses until it was time to pick classes once again for the spring semester.
As I was looking at my required courses for an interior architect major, most of them made sense. Design studies 120, 140 and 220; art history; material culture; and so on. But as I was searching I realized that I was required to take a literature course, three science courses, a communication course, etc. So, as many do, I decided to get those out of the way as soon as I could. What I didn’t realize were the courses that I was going to end up in. I thought I had everything planned, and my schedule was going to be great. But being a freshman definitely had its downfalls, and I was one of the last people to choose my classes. You would not believe some of the courses I ended up with. They included Russian literature, geology (yes, the study of rocks) and math 141. I was in over my head, and felt like a lost puppy in those courses. I was an interior architecture major and wanted to design and flip houses. These classes were going to do nothing for me in the future.
I kept trekking throughout the semester, and overall it made me proud that I was able to conquer these courses. They had nothing to do with my future, but in a way I felt grateful for them and the things I learned. It definitely made me realize that I picked the right major and will never be a geologist or a Russian literature professor!
That being said, the gen eds followed me into sophomore year, and the frustration has not gone away. But the thing is, neither will these courses. They are here to test us and show how we can adjust and adapt to new situations and content. While I will forever have a hatred for them, they won’t last forever, and know if you feel this way, you are not alone!