Before we’ve even graduated high school, most of us are already expected to have a plan figured out for our future. Maybe your parents helped to create this plan for you, maybe you met with counselors to help or maybe you just figured this all out by yourself. But suddenly, we’re in college enacting a plan created before we could even make a decision as an adult. Then we're realizing this plan is all that matters and it consumes our identities. Our ideas of success and failure all center around accomplishing this plan. Some will do everything that they set out to do and I’ve even met a few of these people who have achieved their plans without alteration. But what happens when your plan fails?

My plan failed. For me, my plan was to be an electrical engineer and to work in a career of robotics. Although after three years of crawling and clawing my way through engineering courses I just couldn’t do it anymore. I was sitting in one of my engineering labs and I had an epiphany. All at once I realized that I never wanted to really be an engineer and I left the classroom without finishing my work. The next day I started looking into changing my major.

My plan failed but this was never really my plan to begin with. I breezed through high school and was labeled one of the smart kids so I was expected to choose a career that reflected that label from my friends and family. My parents also always told me to go for the money, so electrical engineering seemed like a prestigious career that fit both of those criteria. I just did what others said I should do as a career without really thinking about what I wanted. Was engineering tough? Of course it was, but I believe I could have made it through to earn my degree—but I wouldn’t have enjoyed a life of engineering after college. However, there was a passion of mine that always called to me as I pursued my engineering degree.

That passion was creative writing. Fear had kept me from pursing that passion as a career. Others always told me that writing would never make me money or that it wasn’t a safe career to follow. Some said writing was no more than a hobby and only the most talented could make a career of it. All of these comments made me hesitant and scared, but I also feared that changing my major would be admitting that I was a failure. And here I am, happier than ever. All of this controlling fear made me sick to my stomach but after three years of not following my passion, I finally gained the courage to choose my own path and switched my major to English.

This wasn’t easy though: to go against all the expectations of my family and friends. I still remember the disappointment in my parents’ eyes when I told them that I had changed my major and later realized that they stopped bragging about me to others, but even still I would encourage anyone experiencing similar struggles with their major to follow their passions. Admitting that engineering wasn’t the right fit for me was one of the best decisions of my life because now I enjoy my major and am excited about a career in writing.

So what happens when your plan fails? Well, it’s not always bad. Maybe the original plan needs to fail so that you can follow your plan. Don’t be afraid to follow the path that makes you happy. But of course I didn’t change majors without first making sure that it was the right fit for me.

My friend, who is now a college counselor, recommended that I talk with advisors and utilize the career counseling services on my campus. Through the career counselor I completed multiple career and personality assessments that would provide some insight on what careers could be a fit for me. Then I had a meeting with the counselor and she helped me figure out different career paths that I could pursue and how to pursue them. After meeting with a career counselor I realized that English was the correct major for me, and I had a new plan of how to enact my dream to be a writer.

I’ve realized that pursuing a career that I’m passionate about and that matches my personality has been one of the greatest decisions I’ve made as an adult. Even though others may not agree with my decision, I have been happier and more motivated about my career path. I always had doubts about being a competent engineer before I changed my major, but now I have no doubts that I can have success as a writer. My view on success in life is having a career that I love and enjoy every day, although it may not always translate into huge financial gain. I would encourage anyone struggling with their college or career plan to pursue their passions. Do your research, see a career counselor to make sure you're making the best decision for yourself, and at the end of the day, that will probably be better than following a plan that has been making you miserable.