I remember growing up, I always wondered what the future held for me, what I would study when I went to college and what career I would have. I know it sounds silly but it's true! Some kids would dream of being the President or an astronaut and all I wanted to do was help people and create.
Funny enough, as I grew up and began focusing more on my academics and sports, I decided to join “the real world” and just focus more on my desire to help people. And naturally, as the majority of high school students do when they decide they want to help people, they choose a degree in Health Care.
By the time I was applying to different colleges and universities, I got all excited about applying and waiting for acceptance letters into nursing programs, it consumed me. And once I got into some schools and finally landed on deciding to go GCU it seemed like I had my whole life laid out in front of me. But, if life has taught me anything in the past few years it is that nothing is ever for certain and things can change in the blink of an eye.
Long story short, I started off college really strong and when things in my life started to crumble, so did my chance of graduating with a nursing degree. Now, anyone who knows me knows that my heart had been set on becoming a nurse for the longest time and they would also know that my desire to be a nurse started to dwindle as well.
Instead of being drawn to all of the health clubs and getting a job in a hospital, I channeled all my leftover energy after my classes towards the things that fueled my creativity. I focused on music, teaching myself about marketing, social media, photography, blogging and even on writing for Odyssey.
Being creative just filled my soul so much more than nursing did.
I would catch myself daydreaming about being able to graduate with a communications degree and being able to work at a company based in Los Angeles and also be close to home.
My heart had lead me to what my real passions. Through Odyssey, I learned that I could help people while still pursuing my passions through the stories I told with my ability to be open about my struggles in a way I was never able to before. Once I realized that, I knew what I needed to do.
After sitting on the idea for about another month I thought back to when I was younger and all dreamy-eyed. I remembered back to when I was in grade eight and remembered that my ability to be creative and relate to people's emotions was what really helped me grow and blossom as an individual. It was my lightbulb moment.
So, knowing what I had to do and after talking to my family and friends who were overwhelmingly supportive, I was able to make the decision with zero hesitation and went into my advisor's office the following week and changed from a Pre-Nursing Major to Communication with a Minor in Marketing and I haven’t looked back since.
When I made this decision I knew it did not mean my life would be any easier. In fact, I knew it would probably make my life a little bit harder. And before changing my major, the uncertainty of life and unpredictability of each day haunted me. It held me down and buried me.
I became isolated, withdrawn, and dreaded the fact that my future was not certain. And crazy enough, after changing my major I had never been more excited to have a future that was uncertain because I know that wherever God places me will be right where I need to be. And even though it will be hard, I am willing and ready to work as hard as physically and mentally possible to be successful.
To all of my future college students and heck even current college students out there, listen to me when I say that you need to follow your heart. Trust me, I get it. College is a crazy time, and choosing a major and a career path is without a doubt one of the hardest parts.
However, you need to make sure that the future you choose to pursue yourself is yours alone and you can do that by combining the desires of your heart into your logic. By doing this you not only save yourself stress and heartbreak but you allow yourself to live a life that is true to who you are and when you choose a life path that ensures joy and happiness, you can never go wrong.
Remember to persist and work hard. Don’t allow yourself to just skate by. Hone your craft and work as hard as you possibly can and focus on becoming truly great at what you do, no matter what it is. Nothing good in life comes easy and deciding to change your major doesn’t necessarily mean the ride will be easy, but it does guarantee that it will be worthwhile.
