When you go to college, you'll realize that there are a few questions that will define you as a person during the first few weeks of your experience. "What's your name?" "What's your major?" "Where are you from?"
These are the three main questions you will probably be asked by everyone you come across during the first month or two of college. Out of those three, two of those are solid questions that do not vary for the most part, but the other question is one that I had great difficulty finding the answer to. As a college student, the demand to declare a major and know what you want to do immediately is probably one of the hardest and most stressful parts of college.
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As a high school senior, my mind was all over the place in regards to what I wanted to do with my life. My mind flew toward every possible career choice imaginable, from doctor, to lawyer, to veterinarian, to political broadcaster. Not knowing what I wanted to do, I thought that I had to declare a major before I went to college, so I decided to declare a double major in political science and communications.
My first semester went pretty well. I managed to get a solid GPA and I was making friends, but the only problem was that I literally hated all of my communications classes. I was so worried because I now knew that I had wasted my first semester with a major that I probably wasn't at all passionate about. As second semester rolled around the corner, I still wondered what I wanted to do, so I decided to take a variety of different classes to get my feet wet and see where my interests were. I took some honors courses, as well as a literature course, and I still felt like none of my courses were satisfying my interests in any way.
During the middle of my second semester, I felt like I was experiencing a mid-life crisis. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I questioned what I wanted to do, what my motivations were and how I wanted to impact the world around me. After a good month of thinking about it, questioning my choices and looking for support from friends, I realized that what I really wanted to do was help others in need. I always had an interest in the fields of medicine and education, and I wanted to go into a field where not only would I have little trouble finding a job after college, but also one where I would be able to fulfill this wish of helping others and making the world a better place.
Then, I had finally found the major for me: nursing. Nursing not only gives me the opportunity to help others and make the world a better place, but also allows me to pursue the medical career that I had always been interested in yet was always afraid to declare. Although I spent a year of my college experience taking classes that probably won't really aid me in earning my degree, what I did learn was that knowing what you're interested in takes some time, and that you should never rush that.
So, if you are currently in college or about to start college, and you are dealing with the same problem I dealt with, I have one piece of advice for you: do not rush yourself into something that you aren't 100 percent certain you want to do. Do not give into the pressure that your parents, friends and high school administration are probably pushing you into. Take your time, and wait until you find something that genuinely makes you happy and gives you purpose.
