Discovering your major in college is like being five years old again and going to a candy store the size of a shopping mall. There is so much that you want, that you could get your hands on, but you can only have one… for now.

I walked into that store thinking I knew what I wanted. I had dreamed about the sweet treat, that I would get my little paws on and enjoy, for a very long time. However, when I go to college, I realized all of the other sweets available were just as good. I did not know what I was getting myself into.

Luckily for me, I was stopped from going into a major that would’ve killed my passion on day one. A very kind but tough professor, whom up until recently I despised, told me plainly that I would never make it in the music department. And so major number one, music education, was gone and it was time to move onto number two.

I found my next home in somewhere I felt comfortable. Prior to college, my studies in art became serious the moment I was accepted into an advanced art course in seventh grade. From then till my first semester of college I had taken every possible art course, elective, studied out of class, and took part in a college level two year program for graphic design. My second major in college was Digital Media Arts (DMA). My plan was to get my undergrad in DMA and get my masters in animation.

As I took the entry level courses, I realized something about myself. I was bored. What took me three months to cover in college, I covered in about a month in high school. I was not challenged. Assuming that it would take to my junior or senior year to get any new content, I was destined to leave that program and move on. Though I moved on, I didn’t necessarily go anywhere new.

I, being desperate and thinking about my dreams, moved back into the aisle of the music department. I went to registration, and I decided to try getting my B.A. in Music. I was going back to my dream of being on Broadway. I sat down with the head of the music department and he told, in more words, no. It was a bad idea to think I could do it, I had tried lessons and was not getting anywhere. If you are keeping count that is major number three, and there are more to come.

My next major was a lot like those tubes of flavored sugar that your parents never wanted you to get, but somehow you still got in the end. The official name of this major is Cross-Disciplinary. It is by no means a “catch-all” major. For some, this major is exactly what they need. It lets you, essentially, get a degree in three areas of study and not be stressed with trying to triple major, if that is even possible. My areas of study were going to be Theatre, Music, and Education. I wasn’t giving up on Broadway just yet, and I was going to find every way possible to do so.

This major, like the sugar high of eating a bowl full of pixie stix, didn’t last. It took some careful consideration and inner reflection on what I had been doing in my life to figure out my next step. I was lost. And then after a long, long discussion with several people, I figured out my career path: Education. I had been bouncing around the idea of teaching for a while, as you could see from a few of the other majors I have held. But this was different from that. Then, education was a backup if I didn’t make it as an actor. Now, education is the new dream, my new purpose in life. But my major train doesn’t stop yet.

I started my sophomore year, yes, all of those major changes were only in my first year, as an Adolescent English Education Major. I thought I would teach middle school and change lives of kids who are going through the roughest time of their lives. But, I realized something. I wasn’t guaranteed a job as a middle school teacher, and would have to pay my dues in high school eventually; and I hate high schoolers.

What made me realize adolescent education wasn’t for me was an observation in a third grade classroom. I was shocked when I was placed with these children, because at that time I was still gung-ho on teaching teenagers. My professor placed me there with reason, a reason I didn’t know until after, but he knew I was meant to teach young children. This class was excellent, they gave me a run for my money that put my passion to its full availability. I even had a long conversation with a nine year old about taxes. The night after getting back, I decided that I was going to change my major and get certified in Childhood Education. And I am.

The final major count is six different majors. That is a lot of change. So I may have walked into that candy store wanting a jawbreaker, but I walked out sour patch kids. To those who are going into college, or are currently in and lost about your studies, don’t settle. Choosing a major is hard, and takes a lot of guessing. But, you will know what you are meant to do, when your choice is correct you will feel like you had been there the whole time. So, walk into the candy store and take in all of the aisles before heading to the register; it’s worth it in the end.