So you’re going off to college! You’ve finally found the perfect school, been through the exhausting application process and have been accepted (yay!), but where do you go from here? Although it may not have seemed like it before, that first step is easy. Now comes the big question… what do you want to do with your life?
Yes, that’s a truly loaded question. Perhaps you had a favorite subject in high school, but is that something you could see yourself doing every year, every day for the rest of your life?
Don’t stress out now– it will be okay. Although choosing a major is a big decision, if you keep these in mind, the process will be smoother.
This decision isn’t the end-all-be-all.
Just because you think you want to major in one thing now, doesn’t mean that you can’t change your mind in a year or two. I’ve even switched. As you grow into yourself during college, you’ll find subjects and paths that cater more to who you really are.
And a major isn’t the only education you can get. You can minor. You can double-minor. Heck, you can even double-major. You can join clubs and take online classes that have nothing to do with your major at all. Even when you narrow it down to one specific field, there will always be more information and opportunities to learn.
Explore your options.
I went into college as a journalism major with a degree in creative writing. While my true passion is writing, I took a computer science course in my freshman year, and I fell in love. Now I’m minoring in computer science, all because of one requirement in my college career.
You’ll never know what you like unless you try. In high school, I could’ve never imagined working with computers– writing was the only thing I wanted to do. By taking out-of-the-box classes, exploring interesting activities on campus and tagging along with friends to their meetings, you can fall in love with a subject that was never even on your radar.
Once you’ve done all that, narrow it down.
More often than not, our interests can be combined in one way or another. In my experience with writing and computing, I thought there was no way the two could crossover– that is until I discovered the world of coding and website design.
There are truly more options in college than you could ever imagine. By engaging in a little bit of research (and a little bit of soul-searching), you’ll find your perfect major in no time. Even if you don’t, however, keep in mind that it’s completely normal to change your mind once or twice. Everyone’s college experience is a little different, but as long as you’re sticking with something you truly love, then your major is right for you.
