If you ask me, Disneyland isn’t the happiest place on Earth – the University of Southern California is. Nothing fills me with more pride than holding up that V for Victory and saying "Fight on," or knowing that I have the support of my entire Trojan Family in everything I do. I’d be lying if I ignored the fact that part of my love for USC comes from my love for being a business administration major.

Picking a major in college is either the easiest or hardest decision a person will ever make. Some people know from day one that they want to be a doctor, while others graduate with a psychology degree and end up being the owner of a hotel. For me, deciding to be a business major was something that I was very unsure about, but after three years I can’t believe I questioned it. It’s taught me more than I could’ve ever imagined, not only about business but about everyday life.

1. If you want something, you have to ask for it.

One of the hardest things I’ve learned being a business major is that when you want something, you have to ask for it. In my professional selling class, we are told to end every sales presentation with an urge and a call to action. “Ask for the sale” are the four scariest words I’ve encountered in my time at USC. As someone who doesn’t like to bother others, the idea of closing a pitch or presentation with “Would you like to sign today?” or “I’d like to know if you’re willing to buy our product now” is absolutely terrifying.

While it was out of my comfort zone at first, it’s something I’ve learned to be true. You will never get what you want if you don’t ask for it. You have to show people that whatever you need from them, you want it. People don’t want to waste their time or energy if you’re not willing to give your all, so show them that whatever they have to offer is something that is a priority to you. Whether it’s a raise at work or trust from your parents, you have to show the person that it’s important.

2. People love talking about themselves.

I can’t stress this enough: People love talking about themselves. This simple fact is something anybody can use to their advantage in any situation. Need to butter up a teacher or boss? Ask them about their life story. Need to get on your parents’ good sides? Ask how their day went or get them to tell you a story from their childhood. People like knowing that their story is worth being heard, because it is. More than that, actually listening to someone’s story is not only fascinating, but allows you to build trust and a relationship. Why wouldn’t you want to get to know a friend, family member, or colleague better? Building rapport and trust is never a bad thing, so use the fact that people love talking about themselves to better these relationships.

3. Everyone you meet is important and has something to offer.

In the business major community, networking is one of the pillars of success. It’s constantly preached in literally every class from Finance to Marketing to Economics. Networking is essential but is completely ineffective if done incorrectly. Too many people have that chip on their shoulder when networking. They think they don’t need to talk to this guy, or that this person won’t have anything to offer them because they have a lower job title. That attitude, right there, could be the death of a potentially great career. Everyone you meet could have something to offer. Everyone you meet is smart, interesting, and has their own stories, relationships, and dreams. You never know who will become your next colleague or friend, who will introduce you to your next boss, or who could potentially become your next business partner. That is, you’ll never know unless you give them two minutes of your time to exchange a number or business card.

4. Being really good at one thing will never get you as far as being well-rounded.

Math has basically been the bane of my existence since the seventh grade. It didn’t click with me why I was trying to find x or, for the life of me, why in the world I was trying to figure out i when i was an imaginary number. We have enough real numbers, for the love of God, why do we need imaginary ones?! (Obviously, I’m still bitter about whole the imaginary-numbers thing.) I always felt that maybe I wasn’t going to be a good business major because I wasn’t as good at math as some of my peers.

But being a business major has really changed my views of math and taught me a really important lesson about life in general. My math-based business courses have taught me that it pays off 100 times more to be well-rounded than to be really good at one thing. For example, you won’t be good in finance if you can’t do the math as well as apply the results to each situation. You have to be able to do both. High-level math skills need to be paired with the ability to apply answers to real-life situations. Developed analytic skills are going to be just as important as developed people skills and creativity.

This applies very well to life. It’s important to remember that being balanced and well rounded is more important than succeeding in one area. A huge career is great, but will you truly be happy with a wildly successful career and nobody to share the success with? Work on all areas of your life, and make sure to be balanced.

5. Value your ROE (return on energy).

If you ask any business major, ROE stands for "return on equity." While this is true, I like to look at it in the way a guest speaker in my class once put it. ROE should be looked at as "return on energy." Everything you do, every day, is taking up some of your valuable energy. People, homework, your job, working out, daily tasks: They all use up energy. If the return on energy you are receiving from a person or task is not positive, then they are not worth it. There are people out there and projects to embark on that will double or triple your ROE. Those are the dreams and relationships you should be going after. Your energy is yours, and it is valuable, and you can do amazing things when you put your energy in the right direction.

Going into the USC Marshall School of Business, I didn’t have a sliver of an idea of how much I would learn. Sure, I’ve learned enough formulas to make my head spin, can read a company’s annual financial reports like a grocery list, and can tell you how to avoid every possible flaw that people make every day in presentations. Nothing excites me more than applying the formulas I’ve learned in finance class to figure out how much I should save yearly, or dressing to the nines for an 8 a.m. presentation. Being a business major has taught me more about life than I think I could ever learn on my own. They are lessons that I know I’ll use throughout my time in college, through my career, and long after I’m retired on some beach in Hawaii under my Cardinal and Gold Trojan umbrella.