Making the ‘major’ decision

For all those students out there who already know what they are going to do for the rest of their life, I envy you. I guess it’s just easier for some people, like those who grew up knowing what they wanted to do since they were kids, or those counted among the fortunate who have a legacy to carry on through a family business.

I don’t want to spit on capitalism, but sometimes I wish that I didn’t have all these options for a career. It would be nice if somebody just said, “This is what you are going to do whether you like it or not,” so I could amount to whatever was planned for me. Instead, I just get “suggestions.”

Being in a family where I am one of the few that have chosen to go to college, there are all these expectations to do great things. My grandma wants me to be a lawyer and fight for veterans’ rights (my grandpa was in the Korean war), my mom hopes I do something in psychology, my sister says I would be a great doctor, and dad wants me to “consider” the military– which is odd because he doesn’t have much respect for the government. The list goes on and on.

The problem is, for the most part these career choices all seem like a valid path for me, as does everything I have studied in my two years at this college. It is sad. I should have transferred already, but because I cannot make up my mind, I am taking classes that will fulfill almost every requirement for about five majors. It seems like the more I learn, the harder it is to decide on what exactly I want to major in.

I look at all these possibilities just waiting to be realized, and if I chose one over the other, then I would miss something that could have been even more exciting. It is a major dilemma (pardon the pun) because if I do not choose soon, all those possibilities will just fade away.

I can see now why the notion of reincarnation is so popular. If you screw up in one life, you can just pick something else next time. Alternatively, if you are like me and want to experience everything, you can start with one career and work your way down the checklist through each time you are recycled.

For those of us who are planning to transfer next year, the deadline for registration is coming up. And I’m just about as sure about where I want to go as I am about my major. I had a suggestion from another transfer hopeful to transfer as a liberal arts major and then figure it out once I got there.

I had better figure out something soon, because as much as I love this area, I do not want to waste anymore time here.