This one’s for all of you tortured souls, who often feel like your creativity is being crushed by what you study at university. This one’s for all of you who thought that your college major is perfectly fit for your life direction, but ended up feeling like there’s no way in hell you’re going to pursue this career for the rest of your life. This one’s for all of you who were forced into certain majors because your parents believed that not majoring in medicine, engineering or finance, would be a failure at life and a shame to your family name.
Here’s exactly what being in a constantly changing, often times suffocating love-hate relationship has made me learn about life. Here’s the compressed result of sleepless nights worrying about finals, and hours upon mundane hours spent stuck in a lecture boring enough to induce me into deep sleep:
Always Test the Waters Before Jumping Headfirst:
I spent my first semester in college as an undeclared student then declared my major right away when I was still a freshmen. I took away the chance to experiment with courses and had my head and heart set on a certain major without even knowing what I was getting myself into.
General life lesson: don’t blindly dedicate yourself to something you’re not even fully aware of- always experiment.
When in Doubt, Pursue a Second Major or a Minor:
Don’t just shut off all your options- make sure there’s room for some change. When I found my major to be a little too traditional than I had expected, I made sure to pursue a second major to feed my creative side. That way, I opened more doors for myself, career-wise, and made sure that I was studying something a little more creative on the side.
No Major Is a Breeze:
True, you might think that your major is the hardest one out there and wish you could be majoring in one of those ‘easy’ majors. Well, guess what? Easy majors don’t really exist, except maybe in your wildest dreams. When the going gets tough during finals week and when paper deadlines start pouring all over you, you’ll be sharing those hard times with undergrads in all kinds of majors. College is pretty darn challenging and all majors eventually end up making you despise the very thought of higher education at some point.
There’s Light at the End of the Tunnel:
So, your major’s a bit of a pain and you seriously cannot see yourself pursuing any of the career options it entails? It’s not a big deal. A lot of people end up getting their bachelor’s degree in a certain area, pursuing further graduate studies and completely transform their careers later on. Your college major is not a trap and you’re certainly not stuck with it. You can definitely end up turning your professional life around!
To sum up, yes we’ve all been there. We’ve all hated our majors at some point and wished we were studying absolutely anything else. Some of us have even fantasized about leaving college for a while and taking a semester off to restore our long lost sanity. The key thing to remember here is, it’s not the end of the world- your major does not dictate your life direction or your career path. Take a breather!
