The Observer, September 19, 2008
Volume XLI, Issue 4
Surviving Case: an undecided major
"I'm a junior in college, and I'm still undecided when it comes to my major. My parents are getting on my case, and I'm really starting to worry about my future. What should I do?"
First and foremost, chill out. Take a breather. You are not going to be able to make huge decisions when you are flustered. Go download the free trial version of Spore Creature Creator. Make some crazy creatures. Make them sing and dance. Don't decide to go into computer science because you like to play video games.
As a junior, I'm sure you have taken at least 16 classes, if not more. What class did you really enjoy? Not the class that your parents enjoyed you taking, but the one you didn't mind trudging through the snow at 9:30 in the morning to attend. Maybe you enjoyed performing monologues and scenes in Theater 101 or maybe you thought it was the coolest thing ever to make aspirin in Chemistry 113. Do you like politics? Are you addicted to CNN and check the projected electoral map every night? Maybe we have a closet political science major on our hands here.
What classes haven't you taken? You always see students taking pictures of that weird fountain on the Quad for introduction to photography and it always looked like fun. Take photography. Your friends asked you to fill out a questionnaire for psychology and it caught your interest. Take Psychology 101. Your roommate often takes his physics textbook and throws it across the room out of frustration. Take physics. Seriously, what do you have to lose? You can always pass/fail the class.
The point I'm trying to make here is you need to find a class that you enjoy and pursue it further. The only way to find out what you want to do is by sampling other classes. Most importantly, don't let your parents influence what classes you take. A long time ago, I was a biology major. This made my parents very happy, but I was not. Biology was just not for me. I'm now graduating with three majors: political science, psychology, and theater. As much as I thought my parents were not going to be happy with my switch, to my surprise they were. Your parents want what is best for you. They may try to guide you to what they think is the best direction, but in the end, they want you to be happy.
So relax, sit down, and make a list of your favorite classes and sign up next semester for more classes within that major. Write down the classes you didn't enjoy and don't take any more of those classes. Tell your parents that you will be making a decision soon and major decisions like this can't be rushed. If they are paying your tuition, tell them they are investing in you and if they don't want to make a poor investment, then they shouldn't rush you into a major you are not going to be happy with. Don't be afraid that you'll choose the wrong major, end up hating it at the end, and then be stuck pursuing a field you hate. Many people will never even have a job that relates to their major and they're fine. What's the worst that can happen?
