by Hayleigh Brokaw
From my time in college and even in high school, there always seemed to be a strange stigma or fear around changing majors in college. For some people, this is more of a fear than a stigma. I can even admit myself; I think it was a fear for me at one time too. After some time being in these settings, I found that it wasn’t as scary as I once thought.
For example, I came into college with the general idea of being in business. Did I know what I was going to do or where I would end up today? Certainly not. As an athlete for many years of my life up to my senior year of high school, I found myself intrigued by the world of sports. I enjoy writing and making graphics and collaboration, so I would then find myself in the area of social media marketing. These came head-to-head in my last two years here. As a social media intern for the College of Business, a year of work with our athletics department as a marketing intern and another role as an operations intern for a baseball team from home.
Fast forward, all of my expectations were shattered when I found out I really enjoy business law. And more than ever in my time, I am confident that is the direction I am truly going. Even though for some people this may seem time-consuming or daunting or unnecessary, some need to realize how often this happens. The stigma does seem to carry but luckily there are people like myself who understand its false nature.
So, for anyone out there who may be nervous or unsure, know it is perfectly normal. In fact, I have witnessed many proud students and successfully employed people who will stand up in a crowd and say, “I changed my major three times!”. Changing your mind is just as normal and important most of all. When people ask what is required or necessary for a successful career, self-awareness and truly sufficient decision making about what you want in your life are just as important as a great resume. It is easy to get wrapped up in the concepts of making money and location and status, but we seem to forget that these factors will only let us make it so far down the road. Knowing what you want and truly desire can help differentiate what you think you want and what you really need in your life, both personal and professional.