I knew very early on, in middle school, that I wanted to be an engineer. I joined the school’s math team and competed and I was good at what I was doing! It felt good to win, to be on top. That was when I started researching engineering and found that it was high paying and math based. Everyone in my life knew that I wanted to be an engineer someday, and 6 years later I started college with a major in photonic science and engineering.

My dreams were coming true – right?

Wrong. Turns out seventh graders don’t know everything. Each semester that passed got more and more difficult, and I felt like I was just slogging through each class waiting for the “fun” classes to start. Spoiler: the fun classes never started. I dragged myself through Calc 1, Calc 2, Calc 3, physics, failing and retaking some along the way, just to end up feeling relieved at the end of each semester, then immediately dreading the start of the next courses.

Seven semesters went along this way before things came to a head and I realized that I physically couldn’t push myself further towards a career I didn’t even want anymore. I had too many sleepless nights, my hair began falling out, and I began to wonder why I even bothered going to school.

I had always been under the impression that changing majors was for failures. And no, not me! I was going to be a success! I had no choice but to be successful! It felt as though the engineering major I had chosen for myself when I was just 18 was the only thing for me, whether I liked it or not. Luckily, I had a wonderful support group and between my boyfriend, my mom, and my guidance counselor, I came to the realization that I didn’t have to be miserable for the rest of my college career.

I am now a senior studying biology, and I feel as if a two-ton weight has been lifted from my shoulders. My classes are finally enjoyable and I’m excited about my future for the first time in a very long time!

These are the things I wish someone had told me before I started school, or any time before I changed my major. Change can be good! It’s always better to do something you like than something that you think you must do, and in the end, it can work out to your benefit. The median salary for my new career path may be lower than what I was looking at before, but you can’t make any money at all if you aren’t even able to finish your degree. For a long time, I thought switching majors was a cop out, an easy option for the lazy. But I don’t feel lazy and I don’t feel like a failure, I simply feel rejuvenated and ready to plan a new life around my new major.

The takeaway here is: don’t be afraid of change, keep changing yourself until you find a version that you can be happy with.

It’s okay if the path you takes isn’t linear, all the bumps and swerves you encounter in your life teach you valuable lessons and give you character.

And yes – my hair did grow back!