A week ago today, I changed my major.
It wasn't some long winded build up, where my friends and family knew that I was going to change it. I didn't deliberate over it for weeks and weeks. I had lunch with my dad on a Sunday, and a few days later I walked out of the advising office with an entirely new major and, in some ways, an entirely new perspective.
I changed my major for me and no one else. I changed my major because I wanted to. I changed my major because it felt right.
So, why was I so apprehensive? Why did I immediately feel a bit of fear and regret along with my new perspective?
I changed my major from Applied Physiology and Kinesiology with a specialization in Exercise Physiology to Women's Studies. Granted, I am still pre-med, and my dreams of becoming an OBGYN and providing non-profit healthcare across the globe are still alive and healthy. I also picked up a minor in International Development and Humanitarian Assistance in the process. But, for some reason, the idea of telling others that I am a Women's Studies major made me so, incredibly apprehensive.
I know this is a bit dumb. But people are quick to define others based off of their major. In college, one of the first questions we ask people is "what's your major". It becomes so repetitive to the point where it begins to represent you as a person. While our majors are important, they do not define us. Our world glorifies engineering majors, and STEM, and looks down upon those who want to pursue a different route. But, I think that Black Feminist and Womanist Theory is just as important as Aerodynamics. And I think that other's should, too. We can raise up and encourage engineering majors without pushing down those who choose to pursue humanities. We can create an environment that nurtures all students and makes everyone feel important.
I am still taking classes like biochemistry and physics. But, I am also taking classes like "Women in Islam", and I would argue that those classes are just as (if not more) important as the sciences. I'm proud to be a Women's Studies major, and I am proud to pursue topics that I am passionate about and that fit me, rather than what society tells me I should pursue.
