Going to college, like most 17- and 18-year-olds, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I honestly couldn’t even pinpoint any of my personal interests other than soccer. Once I found out I liked writing, I ran with it. I decided to major in journalism, and I was set. My life was on track, and I knew what I wanted to do.
Wrong.
I think you can ask most people who’ve been through college, and they’ll tell you that they changed their major a time or two during college, but why is this the most stressful experience of my life?
The Initial Realization
In the 7th grade, I was convinced I was going to do something with criminal justice as I got older.
I love psychology and analyzing other people’s behaviors. So at the beginning of my sophomore year of college, I thought I wanted to change my major to criminology, so I could start studying to become a behavior analyst. I went back and forth probably the entire first semester, researching what my life would look like if I became a behavior analyst, and if I would actually enjoy doing that.
I ended up deciding against it, getting too scared that it was too big a switch, and it was too late in my college career to switch now.
Once that idea was out of my head, I still knew I didn’t want to stick with journalism — I was in all of the classes, and it just didn’t seem like something I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t want to go out and find the newest stories, chase them and report on them.
This is when I realized I wanted to switch my major to public relations. It didn’t seem like that crazy of a switch, and I’d already taken two of the required Gen Ed classes.
Saying It Out Loud
Saying it to yourself that you want to switch your major is one thing, but bringing it up to your parents, your friends and your advisor is another. It makes the idea feel more real and 10 times scarier. It seems really daunting at first, but once you do talk about it, you’ll realize that everyone is there to support you.
In my specific situation, I needed to get my GPA up, and so I had to get specific grades in the second semester of my sophomore year. (My freshman year grades weren’t the best … I was still adjusting ok?)
My entire life, I have been a very solid, consistent B student. This semester, coincidentally, my most stressful and academically-demanding semester, I needed to get nothing less than three As and two Bs. This stressed me out even more than my two exams a week did.
At the beginning of the semester, I was optimistic — I had the mindset of getting the grades I needed, and I put my mind to it. I worked incredibly hard all semester, really putting in the effort to get those grades.
It’s now the end of the semester, and I have four Bs and one A. I was feeling extremely defeated and like I had failed, assuming that I wouldn’t be able to switch my major. I honestly (dramatically) felt like the entire world was ending, and I was going to fail at life.
I went to talk to my advisor, and he told me that it’s no big deal and that over the summer, I will take one of the classes I need through World Campus. If I can get an A in that class, it will bring my GPA to where it needs to be to switch.
Hearing this made me feel like I could breathe again. I had a backup plan just in case my grades weren’t where I needed them to be.
The Switch
Now I haven’t officially changed my major, but I am enrolled in the classes for next semester. After having all of the conversations with my advisor, and him helping me through the entire process, I feel so much better about the situation. I’m on track to studying something that I am fully interested in and can see myself working in later in life.
The journey to feel at peace with myself, switching my major, was long and very stressful, but worth it in the end.
Some may say that I’ve been MAJORly confused, and my hope here is to help anyone else who’s going through a similar experience. Just know that you’re not alone, other people are likely going through the same thing and you’ll make it out on the other side and hopefully with a major that you love!
Have you ever wanted to switch your major? Or have you switched your major? Let us know on our Instagram, @VALLEYmag!
