Sometime during my Freshman year of high school, I had made a big decision. I had decided that I wanted to be a journalist. I started working on my writing. I went to Columbia University to CSPA and even got selected for a conference in Washington D.C. Everything seemed to be going up for me and my future as a journalist.
Then the second semester of my Freshman year of college started. Everything was going great. I was taking journalism classes and loving them. However, with general educations, I had to take a few extra classes, this is when I decided to take Applied Behavioral Science 100.
As the year went on, I started to enjoy the class more and more. It was one of my favorite classes to go to, even though it was at 4 p.m. and didn't end until 5. For a while, I thought I was just enjoying the class, not anything special. I had been planning to be a journalism major for over 4 years now. I had put so much effort into it with camps as well as writing for this platform and helping with our school's news show.
Eventually, it became clear to me. I wanted to take more Applied Behavioral Science classes and make something within the field my major. I started doing my research and found Early Childhood Research. I have always helped children wherever I was, school, church, coaching. It was clear to me that this should be my major. After more thinking, I had decided to become a children's therapist.
Because I had been a journalism major for so long, I was actually scared to tell my parents. It had seemed that they had put in just as much effort into my journalism as I had. But of course, I had to. At first, they asked a lot of questions, wanting to make sure that this is what I wanted. They completely supported the decision once I explained how sure I was.
To anyone who is afraid of changing their major, you shouldn't be. It can be nerve-wracking, of course, but we are young. We shouldn't be expected to know what we 100% want to do with our lives so early. Also, college gives so many more options for career paths than any high school could dream of. You get to see so many more options that the world has to offer and they're all amazing.
To anyone who doesn't want to change because they had made a plan. I truly understand this, I was a girl with 2 different planners and 2 other calendars in her dorm. I knew exactly what kind of journalism I wanted, how I planned to get there, and what network I wanted to work for. This plan hadn't changed in the 4 years. However, I am so much more relaxed now. I am sure that this is what I am met to do and where I am meant to be.
