You might feel like the major you pick now, in the infancy of your college career, has to be what you are supposed to do for the rest of your life. The thoughts running through your mind might be scary and new and casting a gloomy shadow over what should otherwise be a fun and new experience.
Do I really have to pick what I'm going to be for the rest of my life now?
What happens if I make the wrong choice?
Calm down, young freshmen. Your life is only just beginning, and you do not have to figure out every little detail right now, if ever.
It's most definitely a cliche, but I'll say it anyway: college is a time to experiment.
I can't tell you what to do with your life, and although your parents wish they could, they can't tell you what to do either. The truth is you have to do what makes you happy.
Finding what makes you happy may seem like a frivolous luxury considering our current economic crisis, but true happiness is impervious to recession.
The pragmatist in me wants to tell you to pick one of the safe majors, or majors that will get you a great job 99.9 percent of the time, but you've heard that old tune every day since you told your family you were going to college. If you know one of these majors will make you happy, then go get it. But for the rest of you, don't fret.
Take this time to explore and figure out who you are and what makes you happy.
Your parents might want you to get a degree in computer science, but you may find Chinese poetry is more your speed - and there is nothing wrong with that. What makes college so great is all the time you get to be on your own, making your own decisions.
It doesn't matter if you make a mistake or two while you're here. It's better to make them now than while you're on a business trip to Amsterdam and accidently spend all your petty cash in the red-light district trying to relive your youth.
I've changed my major, and I'm willing to bet a lot of the other students you'll meet have changed theirs as well. You are not alone in your uncertainty about the future.
Take advantage of your newfound freedom. Be open-minded about the future and earnestly try to find what makes you happy. It's a lifelong journey to reach happiness, and now is when you'll start getting the tools you'll need along the way - no matter what you major is.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
