First off, congratulations! High school graduation is something to celebrate and will be a treasured memory for years to come. I hope the last four years of your life were great, and it is my sincerest wish that the next four will be. An important note for you all: treasure this summer. This time between the ending of high school and the beginning of college is magical. It is a time of goodbyes, in preparation of new hellos.
However, that is not the only purpose of this letter. I want to impart on you some knowledge that took me some time to come to terms with.
Your major is one of the first decisions you make on your journey to university. On the application, you select your intended major. At orientation, you schedule following your intended major's suggested path. Your major seems to shape many aspects of your college experience. And it does. It is actually very important.
The night before my orientation, I changed mine. It was partially an impulse decision. I was originally pre-med. That night, I changed my major to English (no, I do not want to be a teacher). I'd been so consumed with making money and ensuring that I would be able to live a comfortable life; I thought a STEM route was the only way to it. But that night, I decided to follow my heart. I'd never liked science or math, but I've always loved words. The rest would follow.
The next day, the president of my university told us that students at our school change their major approximately two and a half times. It felt like an affirmation.
If you've been looking for your affirmation, this letter is it.
If you are in a major for the money, when you'd rather be doing something else, change it. There are so many ways to make money, no matter the major. Something you will discover once in the job world is that employers tend to value skills above all else. The economy is constantly evolving and changing. What was conventionally thought to work, no longer does.
If you are in a major for the sake of someone else, when you'd rather be doing something else, change it. You are not living your life for anyone except you. And if you are, stop. Living your life based on someone else will inevitably result in your own unhappiness.
If you are in a major for any other reason, when you'd rather be doing someone else, change it. Life is too short not to be following your desires.
The point is, if you'd rather be doing something else, do it. Bite the bullet. If you believe in yourself and your gift, choose them. Choose yourself because, at the end of the day, you're all you have. Choose your gift. Because, later, your gift will choose you. Giving your gift the necessary time, effort, and care that it deserves will result in your gift making room for you wherever you go. You will find jobs tailored to your skill set, where you're able to do what you love and live comfortably. Life has a way of working itself out.
And to those who don't know why they're in their major, to those who aren't sure what they want to do: it's okay. It's incredibly unfair for us to have to choose a life plan at an age where we've barely been exposed to life itself. Live your life. Enjoy yourself. However, take some electives. Take some career aptitude tests. See where your interests lie, evaluate them, and go from there.
To all of you, don't forget to breathe in the midst of this. While it doesn't seem like it, you do have time. You have your whole life ahead of you, you're so young. College is stressful enough without worrying about whether you'll be unhappy when you finally do finish. Please take this advice, find something you enjoy. You'll thank yourself later.
You got this.
